Pakistan's polio tally rises to 10 in 2025 with 2 new cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Peshawar, May 21 (PTI): Pakistan's total confirmed polio cases for 2025 have increased to 10 following the detection of two new cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, health authorities said on Wednesday.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad confirmed the cases in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts.
Of the 10 cases reported this year, five are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one from Punjab.
Despite ongoing nationwide polio vaccination campaigns, certain areas, particularly in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, continue to face challenges such as restricted access and difficulties in conducting house-to-house vaccination efforts, officials said.
These operational hurdles have left thousands of children at risk of exposure to poliovirus due to missed vaccination opportunities, according to health authorities.
In some areas in Lakki Marwat, children missed vaccination during the February and April 2025 immunisation campaigns, resulting in immunity gaps.
Similarly, in UC Saintanga at Wazir tehsil in Bannu, no comprehensive vaccination campaign has been conducted since October 2023.
Additionally, a shortage of female vaccinators and gaps in monitoring have further widened immunity gaps in these regions, officials said.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) is actively engaging with stakeholders to address these challenges and enhance the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns in high-risk areas.
An intensified vaccination schedule is being implemented to interrupt virus transmission and protect children from lifelong paralysis.
The third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025 is set to commence on May 26, targeting over 45.4 million children under the age of five across 159 districts, including high-risk areas in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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MP: Woman, lover conspire to get husband killed; police looking for contract killer
Dhar (MP) (PTI): A 25-year-old woman and her lover have been arrested in the district for allegedly conspiring to kill her husband by hiring a contract killer, police said on Thursday.
The case was solved within 36 hours of the murder though the woman initially tried to mislead the police by claiming that robbers killed her husband, an official said.
Dev Krishna Purohit (28) was stabbed to death on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at his house in Gondikheda Charan village, about 60 km from here.
Superintendent of Police Mayank Awasthi told reporters that accused Priyanka Purohit (25) was married to Dev Krishna when she was around 15 years old. Priyanka moved to her matrimonial home after attaining adulthood but was unwilling to live with her husband, leading to frequent disputes between them.
During investigation, it emerged that she was in a relationship with Kamlesh (32), the SP said.
The duo allegedly hatched a plan to kill Dev Krishna and hired a man identified as Surendra for Rs 1 lakh do the job, he said
After Dev Krishna was killed, Priyanka told police that unidentified persons broke into the house, attacked her husband with a sharp weapon while holding her captive in another room, and fled with valuables.
But the inconsistencies in her statements raised suspicion, and eventually she confessed to hatching the murder conspiracy, the SP said.
While she and Kamlesh were arrested, police are looking for the contract killer, the official added.
