Pakistan, the country that almost ended polio 30 years in a row
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Polio still not eradicated #progress-track { position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 10px; background: #C8B49A; z-index: 9999; } #progress-fill { height: 100%; width: 0%; background: #B85C2A; transition: width 0.08s linear; position: relative; } #progress-fill::after { content: ''; position: absolute; right: -4px; top: 50%; transform: translate Y(-50%); width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 50%; background: #B85C2A; box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px #fff, 0 0 0 3px #B85C2A; } #stall-label { position: fixed; top: 10px; left: 0; transform: translateX(-50%); background: #B85C2A; color: #fff; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; padding: 3px 8px; border-radius: 2px; white-space: nowrap; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; transition: opacity 0.4s ease; z-index: 9999; } #stall-label::before { content: ''; position: absolute; top: -4px; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); border: 4px solid transparent; border-bottom-color: #B85C2A; border-top: none; } 0 ? scrollTop / docHeight : 0; } function onScroll() { var raw = getScrollFraction(); var capped = Math.min(raw, STALL_AT); fill.style.width = (capped * 100) + '%'; if (raw >= STALL_AT && !stalled) { stalled = true; label.style.left = (window.innerWidth * STALL_AT) + 'px'; label.style.opacity = '1'; clearTimeout(stallTimeout); stallTimeout = setTimeout(function() { label.style.opacity = '0'; }, 4000); } else if (raw Four-year-old Shahmeer* in Sindh’s Sujawal had been receiving his hifazati teekay on time for pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, typhoid, poliovirus. Every box on his vaccination card was marked complete. Yet, on March 5, he became Pakistan’s first reported polio case of 2026. Shahmeer showed no visible symptoms — he went out to play as usual, did not complain of joint pain, and showed no signs of paralysis. This is because he had contracted non-paralytic polio, which is a form of the disease that goes unnoticed, sometimes showing up only as a mild flu, but still capable of spreading the virus. The virus in his