KARACHI: Gen. Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, Chief of the Army Staff, yesterday [July 23] ... maintained that “training was a fighting man’s most decisive weapon in war”, says an ISPR Press release. Addressing the Garrison troops in Malir Cantonment, Gen. Ziaul Haq asserted that superior military training was an invaluable substitute for highly sophisticated military hardware. … …[He] said … he was confident that the Pakistan Army would always be ready to safeguard the frontiers of the country against external aggression and internal subversion.

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Montreal,] Pakistan hockey team received a morale boosting news yesterday [July 22] morning when they were informed by their chef-de-mission that Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has congratulated them on their victory over defending Olympic champions, West Germany. ... Malik Meraj Khalid, the head of Pakistan contingent, told Pakistani reporters that [the PM] rang up … and expressed his appreciation for hockey team’s victory. The [PM] inquired about the welfare of the players and other members of the contingent.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2026