ISLAMABAD: In response to concerns about polio, the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has decided to extend travel restrictions on Pakistan for another three months.
The WHO Emergency Committee held its 41st appointment on March 6 to make the decision. Approximately 2,000 people from polio-affected nations were present at the meeting.
The commission reviewed the government’s efforts to stop the spread of the virus, the situation in Pakistan, and the international spread of smallpox, according to WHO.
According to the agency’s findings, Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to be a risk to global efforts to eradicate polio. The two countries are held accountable for the poliovirus’s world spread.
The WHO applauded Pakistan’s anti-polio efforts. The committee, however, emphasized that provincial and district amounts also need improvement, according to ARY News.
In Pakistan, there has just seen a 12-fold increase in cases reported between 2023 and 2024, with a 12-fold increase in cases reported between 2023 and 2024. In Pakistan, up to 628 polio-positive economic tests have been identified in 2025, with fresh regions also impacted by the wild poliovirus.
Concerned Pakistan’s continued energetic flow of the YB3A4A B-cluster of the poliovirus, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan regions, is. The wild poliovirus type 1 ( WPV1 ) has become a hotspot in central Pakistan and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent years in Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta.
The WHO expressed concern about the spread of WPV1 in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, pointing out that the disease is now restricted to two countries on a global scale. Given the spread of the virus during the low transmission season and the expected rise in cases during the great transfer period, the firm raised concerns about Pakistan’s vaccine requirements.
According to ARY News, the WHO has called on Pakistan to carry out effective strategies in troubled areas and noted that there is still cross-border distribution between Pakistan and Afghanistan, particularly from the south of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Quetta locations.
The spread is further increased by the movements of displaced people and immigrants. The committee advocated for better border crossing immunization practices between Pakistan and Afghanistan and put a weight on the need for stronger diplomatic assistance.
Six proved smallpox cases have been reported in Pakistan in 2025, including one in Thatta, Sindh, bringing the total to four in the province and six in the country. In Pakistan, 74 smallpox cases were reported last year. ( ANI )
