Pakistan's polio tally for 2026 has reached nine after a new case turned up in Khyber district on Thursday, 5 November. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a session focused on eradicating the virus and asked federal health officials and the anti-polio team to tour all four provinces. They are to draft a national strategy within one week, after consulting the provincial governments.
Sharif said the challenge of a polio-free Pakistan is serious, but that the government's resolve was far greater. He stressed close coordination with the provinces and every stakeholder involved in the campaign.
Where the cases are
A briefing presented at the meeting said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has seven of the cases: three in Khyber district, three in Bannu, and a single case from North Waziristan. Sindh has two, located in Karachi East and Sujawal. Every case in Khyber, officials said, is linked to virus that came from Afghanistan.
There have been no new polio detections in Punjab since February 2025, the briefing noted. Balochistan recorded no new cases in 2025 or 2026, while Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir both have no cases. Testing of environmental samples in Sindh showed lower poliovirus detection this year.
Officials said cross-border travel from Afghanistan is among the chief reasons the virus keeps spreading in Pakistan.
What happens next
The Prime Minister asked officials to improve routine immunisation, meaning the regular vaccination of children on a set schedule, across the country, especially in polio-affected and high-risk areas. He called the safety of frontline workers, and their unhindered access during immunisation drives, the government's highest concern. He also thanked frontline workers and law enforcement agencies for campaigns held in security-sensitive and hard-to-reach areas.
Officials said measures are being put in place to protect vaccination squads and improve their reach in southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Participants included Ishaq Dar, Syed Mustafa Kamal and Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister's focal person on the polio programme. The national plan is due within that week.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Since February 2025: Punjab has reported no new polio cases, according to the briefing.
- 2025 and 2026: Balochistan has recorded no new polio cases in either year.
- Thursday, 5 November 2026: The Prime Minister chaired the review meeting, and a fresh Khyber case brought the national 2026 total to nine.
- Within one week of the meeting: The coordinated national plan is due, after consultations with the provinces.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan mein is saal polio ke nau case ho chuke hain, aur Khyber district mein naya case Jumeraat ko samne aaya. Wazir-e-azam Shehbaz Sharif ne sooba'ai hukoomaton se mashwara kar ke ek hafte mein qaumi hikmat-e-amali tayyar karne ka hukam diya hai. Is ka matlab hai ke bachon ki routine immunisation aur polio ke qatray pilane ki mohim par zyada tawajjo di jaa rahi hai. Agar aap ke ghar mein chota bachcha hai, to uski vaccination ka record zaroor check karein.
