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When pent-up youth anger propelled India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to online fame in May, its founder said his supporters were disillusioned with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and the opposition for failing to address their concerns.

Yet CJP leaders turned to opposition lawmakers and appealed directly for their support on Monday after police used batons and tear gas to disperse protesters marching on parliament to demonstrate against damaging exam leaks and corruption.

Opposition lawmakers were quick to oblige on Tuesday, after many young demonstrators were injured.

The show of solidarity with protesters could help opposition parties win valuable young voters and broaden the appeal of the CJP, which has so far focused on demanding the education minister’s resignation over the exam paper leaks.

Tens of thousands of protesters had turned out in Delhi, far more than expected, and images of the authorities’ crackdown spread across social media, prompting nearly all opposition parties to rally behind the movement, which has so far said it will keep out of electoral politics.

An opportunity to gain the youth vote

Analysts said the wider political support for the CJP comes with risks for the movement: concerns central to students, such as preventing exam paper leaks and creating more youth jobs, could be overshadowed by broader political agendas.

But the backing could also help sustain them by providing resources, organisational support and a wider national platform.

For the opposition, which has lost many elections to Modi since he first took office in 2014 on the back of anti-corruption protests, India’s young people represent a significant political opportunity.

Those under 30 are estimated to make up more than half of India’s 1.42 billion population, and many have long been frustrated by a lack of jobs under Modi despite years of strong economic growth.

India’s next parliamentary elections are due by April 2029, but key states like the most populous, Uttar Pradesh, run by Modi’s party, and Punjab, vote next year.

“I think the opposition has got a clear sense that there is a very strong sentiment against the government on this issue at least,” said Sanjay Kumar, professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, referring to the education minister.

“If the movement remains undirected … the chances of a further crackdown on the movement are much higher. So the opposition parties see it as an opportunity and they will try to develop a soft corner among the protesters.”

Some Indian broadcasters sympathetic to the government have already accused the opposition of trying to hijack the movement for limelight.

‘Jump on the bandwagon’

Congress leaders and lawmakers Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra protested outside Modi’s residence late on Tuesday, calling for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the leaks of exam papers for medical courses that affected millions of students and led to a retest.

“An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family,” Rahul said before he was detained by police. “PM Modi believes he can get away without answers, without consequences. He cannot. Not this time. The voice of India’s students will not be ignored.”

Modi has not spoken publicly about the paper leaks. A cabinet minister said after a meeting of the ruling coalition that Modi told them “strongest possible steps are being taken to protect the interest of the students”.

Many other senior opposition leaders visited protesters camped out in extreme heat about three kilometres from parliament. Some lawmakers and senior politicians provided legal assistance to protesters detained by police, while others sent food and other supplies.

“There is now a one-upmanship among political parties over who can best position themselves as the champion of India’s youth,” said Rasheed Kidwai, political analyst and visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation.

“Every political party is acting according to its own electoral calculations, particularly with state elections approaching in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.” The CJP said it welcomed the political support.

“It’s not a political protest. It’s a movement of the masses; it is a movement of students, and we appreciate the support we are getting from the opposition parties,” a spokesperson said.

“It was CJP which invited the opposition, and now they are coming and giving us the support. It motivates us. We won’t let any politics happen here.”

They need to be mindful, said political analyst Sandeep Shastri.

“Whenever there is a movement like this, and given the visibility it is receiving, it is very tempting for every political formation to jump on the bandwagon,” he said.

“So if political parties join this movement, there is a strong chance that the leaders who actually started it, as well as the issues driving it, will take a back seat.”

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THE preparation of the Strategic Trade Policy (STP) for 2026-31 is an opportunity not merely to set fresh export targets but also rethink our export strategy in the light of lessons of the past decade. Any new policy’s credibility depends on fixing structural weaknesses that have repeatedly undermined implementation.

First, policies alone don’t produce results. Pakistan has prepared numerous strategies over the past three decade, but most have fallen short because governance has been weak and institutions ineffective. Good governance is the foundation on which sound economic policies rest. It improves resource allocation, boosts competitiveness, raises productivity, reduces transaction costs and enables efficient functioning of markets. Unless accompanied by governance reforms, the new STP is unlikely to deliver outcomes different from its predecessors.

The new policy should begin with an honest assessment of the previous two STPs. STP 2015-20 envisaged exports of $35 billion by 2020, but actual exports amounted to only $20.5bn. STP 2021-26 targeted exports of $57bn by 2025, but actual exports reached only about $32bn. The government should analyse why earlier policies failed. Were the targets too optimistic? Was production capacity, particularly for non-traditional exports, assessed before targets were set? Were industrial bottlenecks identified and removed? Did the National Export Promotion Board (NEPB), chaired by the prime minister, meet regularly to review progress and resolve implementation issues? Were problems such as excessive taxation, high energy prices, tariff protection, cumbersome regulations and rising cost of doing business effectively addressed?

The review must distinguish between policy failures and external shocks. Covid-19, floods, the Ukraine war and Middle East tensions disrupted global supply chains and global trade, affecting export performance. But they can’t alone explain Pakistan’s stagnation. Domestic policy choices also had a role. Between 2013 and 2018, the exchange rate remained effectively fixed while the real effective exchange rate appreciated steadily, indicating an overvalued currency. During this time, exports were stagnant at around $25bn, imported inputs became more expensive and exports as a share of GDP declined from 13.1 per cent in 2005 to 7.9pc by 2025.

Second is the failure to diversify exports despite repeated policy commitments. Successive STPs identified product and market diversification and technological upgrading as central goals, yet little changed. Textiles, food products and leather still account for over four-fifths of our exports, almost the same proportion as a decade ago. Export destinations, too, remain highly concentrated. The US, EU, China and UAE together account for over 60pc of exports.

The new policy should begin with an honest assessment of the previous two STPs.

The EU illustrates both Pakistan’s success and its missed opportunities. Since gaining GSP-Plus status in 2014, exports to the EU have expanded significantly because of preferential access to about two-thirds of tariff lines. But, Pakistan has failed to diversify beyond traditional cotton textiles. It has not adequately exploited opportunities in synthetic fibre products, technical textiles and other higher-value segments where global demand is growing rapidly. Despite substantial export growth, Pakistan still accounts for only a small fraction of total EU imports.

The broader export basket remains concentrated in low-technology, resource-based products with limited long-term growth prospects. We still lack a meaningful presence in medium- and high-technology sectors such as electronics, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical equipment and e-mobility components. These account for a growing share of world trade, offering opportunities for productivity gains and higher wages.

Integration into global value chains offers perhaps the greatest opportunity for export expansion, especially through deep industrial linkages with China. Recent tariff reforms and the Pakistan Single Window initiative are important, but must be implemented consistently. Domestic taxes and tariffs on imported polyester, synthetic fibres and other industrial raw material should be gradually reduced to improve competitiveness. We also need a medium-term industrial policy to encourage investment in upstream industries, including a petrochemical complex that can supply raw materials for synthetic fibres and downstream manufacturing industries. Even the World Bank now recognises that carefully designed industrial policies have an important role in accelerating structural transformation in developing countries.

The third requirement is realism. In an uncertain global environment, single-point export targets have little practical meaning. The new STP should present a range of possible outcomes supported by analysis. Its underlying assumptions should be clear. Industrial, tariff, tax, exchange rate, fiscal, monetary and skills development policies must reinforce and not contradict one another. Regulatory simplification, digitalisation, logistics efficiency, technical skills and higher female labour force participation are equally critical and should be fully reflected in implementation frameworks.

Consultations with exporters should be substantive. Existing and indirect exporters and potential entrants understand regulatory obstacles and market opportunities that policymakers often overlook. Their advice should shape policy design and implementation. The STP should assess emerging global trends including AI, climate change, demographics, geopolitics and supply-chain realignment, to ensure that its assumptions stay robust over the next five years.

Finally, the commerce ministry and NEPB should focus on steps within their direct control. Pakistan must pursue preferential trade agreements with Asean, the GCC, Japan, Korea, the UK, the US, Central Asia and Russia, while seeking more favourable terms under the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement. Compliance with the 27 international conventions underpinning GSP-Plus must be a priority.

Export financing should be expanded through instruments like guarantees and export insurance. The Export Facilitation Scheme must be restored with stronger safeguards. The Export Development Fund should finance product development, market diversification, testing, certification, technology upgrading and skills development. The Pakistan Single Window should be extended to cover remaining regulatory agencies. A formal stability clause, committing the government not to make major policy changes without consultation, would boost long-term investment. Finally, strong trade diplomacy needs qualified commercial representatives abroad. Export promotion should be made a central rather than a subsidiary responsibility of foreign service officers and their performance metrics.

Pakistan’s export problem is no longer one of diagnosis. The constraints are well known and the priorities have been identified. The real challenge lies in implementation, coordination and policy consistency. The next STP should be judged not by the size of its export targets but the credibility of its assumptions, the coherence of its implementation strategy and, above all, its ability to produce measurable results.

The writer is a former State Bank governor.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2026

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LAHORE: The water level in the Chenab River is likely to surge significantly over the next couple of days following ongoing rains in catchment areas of Indian-occupied Kashmir and fresh spells of heavy rain in parts of Punjab.

“At the moment, the Chenab River is flowing in medium flood. Its flow may surge and enter the high-flood category following forecasts of heavy rain over the next three to four days in both held Kashmir and Punjab,” a senior official of the Punjab Irrigation Department told Dawn on Monday.

“The situation may turn critical if there are heavy rains, as predicted, in the catchment areas of held Kashmir and Punjab,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) issued a forecast of high flood levels in major rivers, including the Chenab, and nullahs due to heavy rains expected until July 24.

According to the FFD’s Monday flood bulletin, the flows of all major rivers were likely to increase significantly by July 24 due to a prevailing westerly wave coupled with a strong monsoon incursion from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal over the catchments of all major rivers.

“High flood levels are expected in River Chenab at Marala, River Jhelum upstream of Mangla and associated nullahs of the Jhelum and Chenab (Dora, Dotta, Dowara, Bhimber, Halsi, Aik and Palkhu) and Ravi (Bein, Bassanter, Deg and Sakki). High flows are also expected in River Kabul and its associated tributaries,” the FFD warned.

It also forecast flash flooding in the hill torrents of DG Khan, streams of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan, and urban flooding in Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Khushab, Sialkot, Gujrat, Narowal, Lahore, Okara, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar and Faisalabad.

The FFD also mentioned the current situation regarding water flows at various gauging stations.

It observed that the River Indus was flowing at “low and below-low levels” at various stations, including Tarbela, Kalabagh, Chashma, Taunsa, Guddu Sukkur and Kotri.

“The Jhelum is flowing in low to medium flood at Mangla and Rasul, followed by the Chenab flowing in medium to high flood at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad. The Ravi and Sutlej rivers are flowing in below-low flood,” it added.

Meanwhile, the daily water report issued by the Water and Power Development Authority stated that inflows and outflows in the River Indus at Tarbela were recorded at 232,500 cusecs and 210,000 cusecs, respectively. The inflows and outflows in the Jhelum at Mangla were recorded at 57,400 cusecs and 10,000 cusecs, respectively.

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US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not face arrest at a UN summit in New York, after the city’s new mayor said he was investigating the move.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted he was unsure if he had the power to order police to detain a foreign leader but said he was discussing the matter with his legal team ahead of the UN General Assembly in September.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump said on social media.

“He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The Hague-based International Criminal Court said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the brutal October 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told the New York Times on Saturday, referring to the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ). “He’s a war criminal.”

“And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

However, Mamdani said he was unclear on whether he has the legal authority to order the New York Police Department (NYPD), which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader like Netanyahu.

Therefore, his administration was still mulling whether to arrest Netanyahu if he comes to NYC in September, as expected for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” Mamdani added.

During his mayoral campaign in September 2025, Democratic Mamdani had said he would order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu if he arrives in the city.

Netanyahu’s office also dismissed Mamdani’s stance and said the ICC was a kangaroo court.

According to NYT’s Saturday report, Netanyahu also commented on Mamdani’s threat to arrest him, saying he was not concerned. He went as far as even accusing the mayor of supporting Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

“I think he should look at who he’s condemning, who he’s praising,” the Israeli premier said during an interview this week with Sid Rosenberg, whom the NYT described as a “frequent critic” of Mamdani.

Mamdani had condemned pro-Hamas chants in January, describing the Palestinian group as a “terrorist organisation” when criticised by some circles.

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There was a time when Spain’s football was defined by fury. Today, it is defined by control.

The old La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) was built on passion, aggression and flashes of individual brilliance.

The Spain of today is something more complete: technically immaculate, tactically sophisticated and capable of turning possession into sudden, devastating attacks.

As Spain prepare to face Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium tonight, they do so unbeaten in 37 matches and as reigning European champions.

Their remarkable resurgence is not the product of one golden generation or one exceptional manager — it is the result of a footballing system developed over decades, refined through success and failure, and constantly adapted to the demands of the modern game.

For much of its history, Spain failed to translate the strength of its domestic football into international success. The 1964 European Championship remained its only major title for decades. The transformation began not in the national team dressing room, but on the training pitches of Barcelona’s La Masia academy.

When Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as coach in 1988, he brought with him a philosophy rooted in the principles of Total Football. Possession, intelligence, spatial awareness and technical ability were placed above physical strength. The 4-3-3 system became more than a formation; it became a way of understanding the game.

At La Masia, players were taught to read the pitch as much as to play on it. Short passing, positional rotations, movement without the ball and the creation of passing angles became fundamental.

The influence eventually extended beyond Barcelona. The Spanish football federation adopted many of those principles across its youth structures, helping create a common footballing language that transcended club rivalries.

The grassroots blueprint

Spain’s success has been built from the bottom up.

Young players move through carefully structured age groups, where training focuses heavily on decision-making, technical ability and football intelligence.

Small-sided games and exercises that demand quick decisions are prioritised over simply developing physical strength.

The country’s youth football is also intensely competitive. Promotion and relegation structures expose young players to pressure from an early age, while regional federations and the Spanish Football Federation work together to identify and develop talent.

The country’s leading clubs provide another important bridge to senior football. Reserve sides such as Barcelona B and Real Madrid Castilla compete in the professional league system, allowing teenagers to experience the physical and tactical demands of adult football before making the jump to the highest level.

That structure helps explain why players such as Lamine Yamal can enter elite football at an extraordinarily young age without appearing overwhelmed.

They are products not only of exceptional talent but of an environment designed to prepare them for the demands of the game.

The golden age of tiki-taka

The fruits of that system became visible between 2008 and 2012.

Under Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque, Spain produced one of the greatest international teams in football history.

Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, David Villa and their teammates perfected a style that came to be known around the world as tiki-taka.

Spain won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — the country’s first — and Euro 2012. In the process, they became the first team to win three consecutive major international tournaments.

Their football was built around the ball. Possession was both an attacking weapon and a defensive strategy. By keeping the ball, Spain denied opponents the opportunity to attack. By moving it quickly and intelligently, they created openings that often appeared impossible to defend.

The team represented the meeting of two traditions in Spanish football: the passion and directness of the old Furia Roja and the technical, possession-based football shaped by Cruyff’s influence.

When possession became predictable

But success eventually created its own problems.

By the middle of the 2010s, Spain’s football had begun to lose its element of surprise. Possession remained abundant, but it increasingly became sterile. The ball moved sideways and backwards without enough penetration or depth.

Opponents adapted. High pressing, compact defensive blocks and a willingness to concede possession in selected areas exposed the limitations of a system that had become predictable.

Spain exited the 2014 World Cup at the group stage. They were eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup and again in 2022, when Morocco knocked them out on penalties.

The old formula was no longer enough. Spain had to evolve without abandoning the principles that had made it successful.

A modern rebirth

Luis de la Fuente, appointed national team coach in 2022, understood that balance.

Having worked extensively within Spain’s youth system, he was familiar with the foundations of the country’s football. His task was not to destroy them but to modernise them.

Spain retained their ability to dominate possession but added greater verticality and unpredictability. Wingers such as Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams gave the team the ability to attack space, beat defenders one-on-one and stretch opponents in ways the old tiki-taka teams often struggled to do.

Spain can now overload one side of the pitch, draw opponents towards the ball and then quickly switch play to create isolated situations on the opposite flank. Possession is no longer an end in itself. It is used to create openings.

Euro 2024 offered the clearest evidence of the transformation.

Spain won all seven matches on their way to a record fourth European Championship title, defeating England 2-1 in the final. They combined technical control with greater speed and directness, while the emergence of Yamal symbolised the fearlessness of a new generation.

The teenager was not merely a talented addition to an established team. He represented the evolution of Spanish football itself.

Spain have carried that momentum into the World Cup.

Their unbeaten run and progress to the final have underlined the depth of their squad and the maturity of their football.

Rodri provides control in midfield, while the attack offers a mixture of possession, movement and explosive pace.

The result is a team that can dominate a match patiently but is also capable of changing its rhythm in an instant.

A model beyond football

Spain’s rise offers a lesson that extends beyond the football pitch.

Its success was not built through a single generation, a quick tactical fix or the discovery of one extraordinary player. It was the result of a long-term commitment to a particular footballing philosophy.

The influence of Cruyff, Barcelona’s academy and the structures developed by the Spanish federation created a technical and tactical foundation.

But the system survived because it was not treated as sacred.

When possession became predictable, Spain adapted. When the old generation faded, a new one was allowed to play with greater freedom. The principles remained, but the interpretation changed.

That may be the most important part of Spain’s story.

The country’s football has evolved from the passion of La Furia Roja into something more controlled without losing its intensity.

The fury has evolved into a refined version of itself.

Today, Spain can suffocate opponents with the ball, break them with speed and defend with the same collective understanding that has defined their football for decades.

Their final against Argentina will bring together two of the most powerful footballing traditions of the modern era.

But whatever happens at MetLife Stadium, Spain’s journey from international underachievers to one of the world’s most consistent footballing powers remains one of the great examples of what long-term planning can achieve.

The Red Fury has become a symphony in red. The anger remains. The difference is that now every movement has a purpose.

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The scoreline said Spain had beaten Argentina 1-0 after extra time. The match said something far more emphatic.

For much of the World Cup final in New Jersey, Spain did not merely outplay the defending champions. They controlled the game so completely that Argentina, despite the presence of Lionel Messi in what was expected to be his final World Cup match, were reduced to chasing shadows.

The victory gave Spain their second World Cup title, but it was the manner of the triumph that made it particularly significant. Against a team that had built its tournament on resilience, late comebacks and the individual brilliance of Messi, Spain offered something altogether different: control without panic, possession without sterility and pressure without recklessness.

Luis de la Fuente’s team represented a modern evolution of the Spanish footballing ideal. This was not possession for possession’s sake. Spain circulated the ball with purpose, pressed aggressively when they lost it and constantly moved Argentina’s defensive structure from side to side.

The result was a familiar but increasingly devastating Spanish pattern. Argentina were pulled towards the ball, only for Spain to move it elsewhere. Their opponents were made to run, then run some more. It was the same passing carousel that had left France dizzy in the semi-final, and Argentina never truly found a way off it.

Spain’s control began in midfield, where Rodri provided the authority and composure while Pedri and Fabián Ruiz gave the team movement, imagination and technical superiority. Argentina’s midfield, led by Enzo Fernández, was unable to impose itself on the match. By the later stages, the frustration had become visible, with Fernández eventually sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

The imbalance was reflected in the numbers. Spain enjoyed the overwhelming share of possession, created significantly more opportunities and largely prevented Argentina from producing the kind of transitions on which their attack had thrived throughout the tournament. Messi and Lautaro Martínez were repeatedly isolated, while Spain’s defensive line dealt with the occasional threat that did emerge.

Argentina had fought their way through difficult moments throughout the competition. They had survived, recovered and found ways to win. But Spain presented a different kind of challenge. There was little to recover from because Spain rarely allowed Argentina to establish any rhythm in the first place.

Even the injuries that weakened Argentina’s defensive stability early in the match could not fully explain their struggles. Spain had simply established a level of control that made Argentina look increasingly reactive. The defending champions were not beaten by one moment of brilliance. They were gradually suffocated by a team that was better organised, technically superior and more comfortable with the demands of the occasion.

The decisive moment finally arrived in the 106th minute. Ferran Torres, introduced from the bench, finished the move that Spain had spent so long threatening to create. It was Spain’s first goal in a World Cup final since Andrés Iniesta’s winner in 2010 and, given the balance of the match, a deserved reward for their sustained dominance.

Argentina tried to respond. Even with 10 men, they pushed forward in the closing stages, but their efforts produced little beyond half-chances. The magic that had carried Messi and Argentina to the title in 2022 never arrived.

Messi, appearing in a record third World Cup final and playing in what was expected to be his farewell tournament, was unable to change the course of the match. There was no late intervention, no moment that could tilt the contest back towards Argentina. This time, the collective was simply too strong for the individual.

Spain had been building towards this moment for years. Their triumph is a continuation of the philosophy that once made them the dominant force in international football, but it is also something new. The old Spanish team was built around the extraordinary midfield of Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. This one possesses a different energy, driven by a younger generation led by players such as Lamine Yamal and supported by a squad capable of combining technical excellence with physical intensity.

The victory also represents a changing of the guard. Messi’s World Cup story appears to have reached its final chapter, while Spain’s next one has only just begun.

Argentina arrived as champions and left beaten. Spain arrived as one of the tournament favourites and left as the team that had made the strongest case of all.

They did not need a classic final. They did not need chaos, drama or a succession of improbable comebacks. Spain won through control.

And by the time Ferran Torres struck in extra time, the final had already felt decided.

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• Thousands attend funeral prayers offered at Quetta’s Ayub Stadium amid strict security arrangements
• Koila Phatak, police stations, educational institutions renamed after martyrs
• Bugti reaffirms commitment to ensuring timely implementation of accord

QUETTA: The pol­icemen who were martyred in the Ziarat terrorist attack were buried in their native towns on Saturday after their funeral prayers were offered at Ayub Stadium, Quetta, attended by thousands of people following the culmination of a 10-day-long sit-in by their relatives.

The sit-in committee agreed to call off the protest after a Friday-night agreement with the provincial government, in which all of their demands, including the call for a judicial probe, were accepted.

Besides other measures, the government also agreed to constitute a judicial commission to probe the attacks in Ziarat and Hanna Urak, in which a total of 32 people — 27 policemen in Ziarat and five civilians in Hanna Urak — were martyred.

Their bodies were brought to the stadium from the Shuhada-i-Ziarat Chowk (formerly Koila Phatak Chowk) for funeral prayers in a big procession. The funeral was attended by thousands of people, including politicians, provincial ministers, tribal elders, and the family members of the deceased, amid strict security arrangements. They were later sent to their native towns for burial with state honours.

The district administration deployed a heavy contingent of security forces, including police and the paramilitary forces, in and around the stadium. It also deployed snipers on the rooftops in the area.

The families of the slain policemen had been holding the sit-in at Koila Phatak since July 9, along with the bodies of the martyrs. It may be noted that 27 policemen were martyred in a terrorist attack on a police post in Ziarat on July 6: nine police personnel were killed on the spot, while 18 were killed by the terrorists after being kidnapped. The attack came a day after armed men attacked the Hanna Urak Valley area on the outskirts of Quetta, killing five people. In response to these attacks, security forces responded with a days-long clearance operation, named Operation Shaban, during which 91 terrorists were killed.

Police stations renamed

The Balochistan government started immediate implementation of the agreement’s provisions. As a “token of acknowledgement of the invaluable sacrifices” of the martyred policemen, it was decided to rename Koila Phatak Chowk as Shuhada-i-Ziarat Chowk with immediate effect, as per a July 17 notification that was issued right after the agreement.

Similarly, it was decided to rename government buildings, police stations, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities in the Ziarat district after the martyrs, who laid down their lives while performing duties in the fight against terrorism. In this regard, the principal secretary to the Balochistan chief minister directed the home, education and health departments to complete the process of renaming the relevant government institutions and obtain approval from the competent authority.

Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti stated that the government was ensuring full implementation of all commitments and provisions of the agreement made with the families of the martyrs. He said that the martyrs who sacrificed their lives “in defence of the country, for the establishment of peace, and for the protection of the lives and property of the people are a source of pride for the entire nation”.

“Naming public institutions after them is a meaningful tribute that will preserve their legacy and inspire future generations with their courage, dedication, and sense of duty,” he remarked.

The chief minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to honouring the martyrs and their families, promoting their welfare, and ensuring the timely implementation of all commitments made under the agreement.

On Friday, the Balochistan government accepted all demands of the protesters, including the formation of a judicial commission to probe both attacks.

The agreement was signed by Health Minister Bukhat Muhammad Kakar, while Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Secretary General Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal signed on behalf of the protesting families.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2026

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