Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where poliomyelitis remains endemic. Wild poliovirus case counts have fluctuated significantly over the past decade: 147 cases were recorded in 2019, falling to 84 in 2020 and just 1 in 2021, before rising again to 20 in 2022, 6 in 2023, and 74 in 2024. By December 2025, reported cases for the year had decreased to approximately 30, attributed to intensified nationwide vaccination campaigns targeting more than 45 million children per round.
The country's polio immunization campaign began in 1974 under the WHO's Expanded Programme of Immunization, with formal eradication efforts starting in 1994 through the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, which now employs up to 339,521 trained polio workers. Despite early CDC and WHO predictions in the 1990s of eradication by 2000, vaccination coverage lagged due to logistical barriers, population being uninformed, and inadequate immunization strategies. International organizations including WHO, UNICEF, the CDC, Rotary International, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation subsequently funded intensive door-to-door campaigns.
A major setback to public trust occurred in 2011, when the CIA employed Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi and local health officials to run a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad, aiming to collect DNA samples to confirm Osama bin Laden's location ahead of the raid that killed him. This ruse had lasting consequences: since 2012, at least 70 polio workers have been killed in Pakistan, with many attacks claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, who allege vaccination campaigns are a cover for intelligence gathering. Polio cases rose from 198 in 2011 to 306 in 2014, the highest since 2000.
Militant attacks on vaccination teams have continued, including a January 2016 suicide bombing near a polio center in Balochistan that killed at least 15 people, a November 2022 bombing of a police truck escorting vaccinators in Quetta that killed 3, and a September 2024 shooting that killed a polio worker and a policeman.
Misinformation has also impeded eradication, including claims that vaccines contain pig fat or alcohol, or cause infertility. In April 2019, over 25,000 children were rushed to hospitals amid a panic driven by false rumors that the vaccine causes fainting and vomiting. Vaccine hesitancy persisted into 2025, with over 60,000 documented refusals recorded during the April 2025 campaign, concentrated in Sindh and Balochistan.
Other structural factors cited include poor health infrastructure, government negligence, political unrest in militant-controlled areas such as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, climate conditions that reduce vaccine efficacy, natural disasters such as the 2010 floods, and low parental literacy affecting immunization completion. In response to a 2024 resurgence, the government launched a National Emergency Action Plan (July 2024–June 2025) and additional nationwide vaccination drives, including an October 2024 initiative targeting 45 million children.
Key facts
- Victims
- On file
- Date
- 2010
- Location
- Pakistan (nationwide)
- Case status
- ongoing
Case timeline
1974
Pakistan's polio immunization campaign begins under the WHO's Expanded Programme of Immunization.
1994
Pakistan's formal polio eradication efforts officially begin via the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.
2001-03
About 27 million children vaccinated nationwide in a campaign aiming for a polio-free Pakistan by year's end.
2010
Pakistan floods displace 20 million people; WHO reports an upsurge in polio cases, with Pakistan accounting for about 62% of endemic-country polio cases by November.
2011
CIA employs Dr. Shakil Afridi and local health officials to run a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad to help confirm Osama bin Laden's location; 198 polio cases reported in Pakistan this year.
2014
Polio cases in Pakistan reach 306, the highest since 2000; Pakistan has the world's highest number of polio cases this year.
2015
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government issues arrest warrants for 1,200 parents/guardians refusing vaccination; 512 people arrested and later released after signing undertakings.
2015-08
Pakistan launches an injectable polio vaccine intended to treat four million children.
2016-01-13
A suicide bomber kills at least 15 people, including 13 policemen and one soldier, near a polio center in a town near Quetta, Balochistan.
2019-04
Over 25,000 children are rushed to hospitals amid mass panic over false rumors that the polio vaccine causes fainting and vomiting.
2019
147 wild poliovirus cases reported in Pakistan for the year.
2020
84 wild poliovirus cases reported.
2021
1 wild poliovirus case reported.
2022-06
Officials attribute a new outbreak to health workers falsely marking children's fingers to indicate vaccination without administering it.
2022-11-30
A suicide bombing of a police truck escorting polio vaccinators in Quetta kills 3 people and injures 27.
2022
20 wild poliovirus cases reported for the year.
2023
6 wild poliovirus cases reported, a low point.
2024-09-12
A polio worker and a policeman are killed by a gunman affiliated with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
2024-10
41 wild poliovirus cases reported across 71 districts as of October; Pakistan launches an initiative to vaccinate 45 million children on 28 October.
2024
74 confirmed wild poliovirus type 1 cases reported for the year, primarily in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.
2025-05
National Reference Laboratory detects wild poliovirus type 1 in 28 sewage samples from 20 districts between 8 May and 17 June.
2025-12
Pakistan reports approximately 30 wild poliovirus cases for the year, a decrease attributed to intensified nationwide vaccination campaigns.
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Shakil Afridi
LAW ENFORCEMENTPakistani doctor employed by the CIA to conduct a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad in 2011 to help confirm Osama bin Laden's location; role and awareness of the operation's implications is unresolved per the source.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
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Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- Pakistan remains one of two countries where polio is still endemic, with decades of vaccination campaigns hampered by militant attacks on health workers, misinformation, and a fake CIA-run vaccination scheme tied to the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Pakistan (nationwide).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: ongoing.
Related cases
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Sources
- Polio in Pakistanwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govnews · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — ncbi.nlm.nih.govnews · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · 2026-07-07