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PESHAWAR: Pakistan reported two new cases of polio virus that bring the nationwide tally to 26 this year, the country’s polio program said on Monday, as official said unidentified gunmen had abducted three anti-polio vaccinators in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

The kidnapping incident occurred in the jurisdiction of Mulazai police station in the volatile Tank district after armed men intercepted the health team and whisked them into the hills nearby, according to police.

Muhammad Ibrahim, a district police spokesman, told Arab News the abducted officials were identified as Abdullah Kundi, Hikmatullah and District Surveillance Officer Dr. Ihsan.

“A heavy police contingent has been dispatched to the area to launch a search and strike operation to recover kidnapped officials,” Ibrahim said.

Shortly afterwards, Pakistan’s polio program confirmed the virus in two infant girls in KP’s North Waziristan and Lakki Marwat districts.

“These new detections bring the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 to 26: 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan,” it said.

The developments came hours after KP provincial health authorities launched a targeted anti-polio drive in high-risk districts, aiming to immunize around 1.29 million children against the crippling virus.

Pakistan last week said it had inoculated over 19 million children nationwide during a polio vaccination campaign. The drives are part of Islamabad’s efforts to stem the spread of the disease, which can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination and routine immunization.

Amjad Ali, a provincial spokesman at the polio eradication program, confirmed the kidnapping of the three staffers in Tank.

“We have been told by district authorities regarding the kidnapping of our employees who were monitoring the ongoing polio campaign,” he said.

The anti-polio vaccination campaign in KP will continue till Sept. 18, according to the polio eradication program. The drive will target Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lower South Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan and Upper Dir districts.

“Polio drops will also be administered in selected areas of Bajaur and Swat districts,” Ali said in an earlier statement. “For this phase of the campaign, 8,928 trained polio worker teams have been formed.”

He said nearly 11,000 security personnel had been deployed to ensure safety of polio teams.

Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate poliovirus have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on polio workers by militant groups. In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted in attacks.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the disease remains an endemic. Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six in 2023 and just one in 2021.

Pakistan’s KP province, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a rise in militant attacks since November 2022, when the state’s truce with the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down. The TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against law enforcers and security forces in Pakistan.

Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Waziristan and Dir districts have seen some of the deadliest attacks by militants in recent months.

ISLAMABAD: On a bright Sunday afternoon this month, the courtyard of Coffeemistry, a cozy café in Islamabad’s upscale F-8 neighborhood, filled with wagging tails and cheerful barks as dog lovers gathered for a meet-up.

The café has long been known in the neighborhood for its pet-friendly ethos, complete with cat beds tucked into corners and bowls of food left out for strays. In a city where pets are often barred from parks, Coffeemistry has built a reputation as one of the few welcoming spaces, where waiters recognize regulars by name, neighbors linger over board games or laptops, and even the local cats lounge as honored guests.

It was here that a group of friends, through their Instagram page “Dogs of Barkistan,” launched a meetup last Sunday to bring pet parents, rescuers and curious visitors together to nurture a community built on compassion.

Anza Nadeem, a 30-year-old pilot and the main organizer, said the idea started as a WhatsApp group before becoming an Instagram page that now hosts casual weekend meetups for dog owners to connect and socialize.

“We started off about a month ago. We have done a few meets,” Nadeem, who was accompanied by his Golden Retriever named Tiger, told Arab News.

“We do casual meets. Dog owners meet dog owners. We do barbeques, movie nights.”

The group has held three events so far and hopes the gatherings will grow into weekly meetups, with plans to raise funds for local shelters through small, ticketed entries.

“TEACH EMPATHY”

The latest ‘dawg meetup’ at Coffeemistry featured dogs of several breeds — from Chihuahuas to German Pointers, English Springer Spaniels, Labradors and rescued strays — all tugging at their leashes or flopping under café tables as their owners mingled.

Across Pakistan, pets and strays face a tougher reality. Dogs are routinely culled by municipal authorities, and dedicated shelters are few, leaving rescuers to shoulder much of the burden. Public spaces that welcome animals are rare, making initiatives like Islamabad’s new dog meet-ups stand out in contrast.

Varsha Khan, a stray-dog rescuer and co-organizer, said the ‘Dogs of Barkistan’ group welcomed not just dog owners, but also those hoping to adopt or simply get more comfortable around animals.

“I have rescued over 150 stray dogs over the past five years and placed them in various shelters for adoption,” she told Arab News.

Khan currently cares for 20 strays at her own home and often brings one or two along to each gathering.

“We’re hoping that as the community grows, future doggy meetups will include a small ticket price and the money raised from that can be donated to animal shelters here in Islamabad,” she said.

For attendees like Yumna Omar, who came without a pet but with an open mind, the event offered an entry point.

“I am here to meet the dogs,” she said with a smile. “We just started looking this week to adopt or buy one in Islamabad, but we do not really know where to begin.”

A stay-at-home mother, Omar described the afternoon as “a break from reality” and a step toward building a loving home.

“I have two 8-month-old twins, and I am a tired mama, so, I am just here to relax a bit,” she said.

“But I want my babies to grow up with animals. They would learn empathy that way. So that’s the purpose.”