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Families of 21 police personnel killed in the TTP attack accuse Pakistan’s military of abandoning officers
July 9, 2026: A major protest broke out at Civil Hospital in Quetta after the bodies of 21 police officers killed in a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack in the Ziarat region were brought for post-mortem. Tensions escalated when authorities attempted to shift the bodies to the Quetta Police Lines for burial preparations instead of immediately handing them over to the families. Grieving relatives gathered at the hospital and demanded that the bodies be released to them.
The families accused the Pakistani military of abandoning the police officers during the attack, alleging that no reinforcements were sent for nearly three hours despite repeated calls for help. They also claimed that after the militants took away the bodies, the military failed to launch a search operation, forcing relatives to recover the bodies themselves. According to the protesters, Frontier Corps personnel later took custody of the bodies in an attempt to claim credit for recovering them.
The allegations sparked widespread anger, with relatives and local residents staging demonstrations inside and outside the hospital. Protesters raised anti-military slogans and accused security forces of mishandling the situation. The families eventually took custody of the bodies and continued their protest on the streets of Quetta, demanding accountability over the handling of the attack and the response of the security forces.