Two policemen were killed in an attack on a polio team in Mardan’s Rustam tehsil on Wednesday.

The attack took place when the officials were returning after security duty with a team of workers, according to police. The deceased were identified as Syed Ali Raza and Shakir.

A heavy contingent of police reached the site and started a search operation to catch the perpetrators.

Pakistan is one of the two countries in the world, along with its neighbor Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic.

On Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan kicked off the polio eradication campaign by administering vaccination drops to children.

“With well-coordinated efforts of the federal and provincial governments, Pakistan can become a polio-free country,” the prime minister said while chairing a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication.

Congratulating the provincial governments for the polio eradication campaign, he said the surfacing of a single case across the country this year was a huge success.

“However, their mission is to make Pakistan a complete polio-free country,” he added

Attacks on polio workers remain one of the biggest hindrances to the eradication of the disease from the country.