PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad, July 26, 2026. Pakistani media devotes extensive coverage to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, India's Education Minister, who announced on X on Saturday that he had submitted his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'so that anti-national forces do not benefit from this situation.' 'I deeply respect the aspirations, feelings and legitimate expectations of the country's youth,' he added, according to Dawn. The announcement came hours after police fired tear gas to disperse protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, according to Dawn and The Express Tribune. Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), proclaimed 'We have done it' amid cheers, while the movement declared on X: 'Cockroaches won.. Democracy won!'

Dawn and Geo News recall the movement's origins: the leak of NEET medical exam questions, taken in early May by approximately two million students, led to its cancellation and a new test in June. Over twenty student suicides have been recorded, including that of Rema Begum, a 20-year-old from Assam whose father told AFP, cited by ARY News, that she 'was absolutely confident' before the postponement announcement. ARY News emphasizes that such leaks are far from new in India: NEET was already compromised in 2024 without a new test being organized at that time, and other competitive exams, including police and teacher recruitment tests, have experienced similar leaks.

Geo News details the negotiations: the government initially sought a delay until Saturday afternoon, following the end of activist Sonam Wangchuk's 26-day hunger strike. The talks brought together ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh for the government, facing CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The Express Tribune and ARY News note that these protests, the largest seen in India in years, prompted the opposition to disrupt the monsoon parliamentary session, constituting the largest youth challenge to Modi since 2014.

Another angle covered by Geo News questions the reliability of information available in India: one report describes how a Google AI allegedly declined to share a link to a founding movement message, citing account restrictions in India, fueling suspicions about control over information circulation surrounding the protest.