ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported its third polio case of 2025, as confirmed by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication.
The latest case was detected in Larkana, Sindh, while the first case of the year was reported from Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In 2024, Pakistan recorded 74 polio cases, with one each from Punjab and Islamabad, 27 from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 23 from Sindh.
Authorities reported that the first nationwide polio vaccination drive of 2025, conducted from February 3 to 9, successfully achieved 99% of its target, vaccinating over 45 million children.
Meanwhile, in Quetta, authorities arrested five individuals for refusing to allow their children to receive the polio vaccine. Assistant Commissioner Maria Shamoon led a team to Sariab, where 15 children of hesitant parents were successfully vaccinated after persuasion. However, parents who continued to resist were taken into custody.
