ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday took serious notice of a newly reported polio case in the Diamer district and directed concerned authorities to further improve the immunisation drive.
During a meeting with Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal and the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio, Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister expressed deep concern over the fresh case from the Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to a statement issued by the PM Office.
He stressed the need for strict and continuous monitoring, particularly in those Union Councils where polio cases are still being reported and vaccination coverage remains low.
Despite ongoing and repeated vaccination efforts, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio continues to exist.
Health officials and aid workers have long pointed out that attacks on polio teams during their door-to-door campaigns in remote parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also remain a major obstacle in completely eradicating the virus.
Pakistan has confirmed another polio case in 2025, this time in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, say sources, quoting the National Institute of Health (NIH).
The virus was detected in a 23-month-old child from the Gabar area of Tangir, Diamer, reported sources on Monday.
This is the first case of polio reported in Gilgit-Baltistan since 2017 when the last infection was found in an area of the same district.
NIH sources said the sample from the child tested positive for the YB3A4 poliovirus cluster. Genetic testing has linked the virus strain to Karachi, even though the child has no known travel history.
Polio cases in Azad Kashmir
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme reports that there were no polio cases in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in 2019 or 2021.
Additionally, thanks to improved surveillance and major contributions from the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, AJK has been polio-free for more than 20 years.
This year, for the Polio campaign of the year 2025 too, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) met a 98 per cent target and has not reported cases of either type of polio.
