A police constable was martyred on Tuesday while guarding a polio vaccination team in the T&T Colony area of Balochistan’s Dera Murad Jamali.

Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asad Nasar told The Express Tribune that the incident occurred when the polio team entered a house to administer drops to children. Constable Farman Bashir Behrani was standing guard outside when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on him. He died on the spot, while the attackers fled immediately afterwards.

SSP Nasar said the police arrived shortly after the incident, moved the body to Civil Hospital Dera Murad Jamali and launched a search operation after cordoning off the area.

Nasirabad Deputy Commissioner Zulfiqar Ali Karar and SSP Nasar visited the hospital soon after the attack. Nasar described the killing as an “act of terrorism” and said the police were investigating the matter from all angles.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident, saying that the culprits did not deserve any leniency.

The incident highlighted the risks faced by security personnel and health workers during polio vaccination campaigns in the country.

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Two days ago, another police officer was martyred and four others injured when gunmen opened fire on personnel deployed to protect polio vaccination teams in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu.

The attack occurred near Chapri Waziran within the jurisdiction of Thall Police Station. The martyred officer was identified as Israrul Haq, a resident of Shangla, who was undergoing an intermediate-level police training course.

The incident came as a week-long anti-polio campaign began nationwide on Monday, aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five. Polio workers, who conduct door-to-door immunisation drives, have frequently been targeted, particularly in K-P and Balochistan.

In 2024 alone, at least 20 people were killed and 53 were injured during anti-polio operations in the province.