2 min readAug 20, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Aug 20, 2026 at 06:40 AM ISTAnti-government demonstrators in Pakistan clashed with the police even as the army was called out in Sindh province to crush the current agitation against the Zia-ul-Haq government, in which at least 26 people have died so far. According to reports, the agitation has spread to fresh areas, including Lahore, following the announcement by the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) to launch a campaign to oust Gen Zia and force the government to hold elections. Violent incidents continued in Sindh province, a stronghold of the Opposition, with demonstrators damaging railway tracks and buildings at some places.Security belt dilemmaThe government is still in two minds about whether or not it should go ahead with the proposed bill to create a security belt along the entire India-Pakistan border in this session of Parliament.Student killed by schoolmatesAdvertisementA 17-year-old schoolboy, Rajinder Singh, was stabbed to death and his younger brother, Gurdip Singh, received stab wounds when they were attacked by their schoolmates in Babarpur, a trans-Jamuna colony. The assailants, Ashok Kumar and Vishnu Dutt Sharma alias Raju, have been caught by the Shahdara police. Rajinder and Gurdip, residents of Kabool Nagar, were from a family of masons and both had recently completed Class VIII at a school near their house. Since this school was only up to middle classes, they were admitted to the Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School, Babarpur, merely a week ago.Car bomb kills 20 in IranA car bomb ripped through a main square in Tehran, killing 20 people and wounding several others, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The blast at 8.20 a.m. local time (10.20 IST) took place during the rush hour, in one of the most crowded areas of the capital.