Unidentified gunmen shot and killed on Monday a police officer working on Pakistan's first polio vaccination drive of the year, police said. Pakistan has deployed thousands of police officers to protect health workers posted to go house-to-house to inoculate children and are targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination

A Pakistan police officer travelling to guard polio vaccinators was shot dead Monday, police said, on the first day of a nationwide immunisation effort after a year of rising cases.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched the year's first nationwide anti-polio campaign, running from February 3 to 9, by administering polio drops to children under five and reaffirming his commitment to eliminating the disease from Pakistan.

Pakistan on Monday kicked off its first anti-polio drive of 2025 after witnessing a sharp increase in polio cases last year. Over 45 million children under the age of five will be immunized with the anti-polio vaccine during the campaign which will continue till Feb.