The new cases have emerged ahead of the government launching a third nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five, scheduled from May 26 to June 1. The campaign will target over 45.4 million children across 159 districts, including high-risk areas of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the new cases have been detected.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus in District Lakki Marwat and District Bannu, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the body said in a statement.
“With these latest detections, the total number of confirmed polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has risen to 10, five from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one from Punjab.”
The statement said while polio vaccination campaigns continued nationwide, with two already held in 2025, certain areas, particularly in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, faced challenges such as restricted access and difficulties in conducting house-to-house vaccination drives.
“These access and operational hurdles leave thousands of children, particularly in South KP, at risk of exposure to poliovirus as a result of missed opportunities for vaccination,” the statement said.