[Current Affairs] September 30,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for FPSC Test Preparation

What’s going on? Pakistan and Afghanistan are kicking-off a new stage of bilateral relations.

The details: Chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, is in Pakistan for a three-day official visit. He met Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. While speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Abdullah said Afghanistan appreciates Pakistan’s help in the Afghan peace process, and called for a new era of bilateral relations.

Tell me more: Abdullah wants a fresh start, not the old “stale rhetoric” and “shadowy conspiracy theories.” Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of backing Taliban insurgents in order to limit India’s influence in Afghanistan. At the same time, Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of letting anti-Pakistan militants plan attacks from Afghan territory. Cross-border attacks continue to take place on both sides. In the past, Abdullah himself accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and its allies. However, he’s singing a different tune now.

The context: Pakistan reportedly helped facilitate two phases of the Afghan peace process.

• Phase 1, US-Taliban peace talks: Pakistan played a key role in setting up direct negotiations between the US and Afghan Taliban. In October 2001, the United States (US) launched airstrikes in Afghanistan after the Taliban, who were ruling Afghanistan at the time, refused to hand over Al Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind, Osama Bin Laden. The US and an international coalition also pushed the Taliban out of power. Nearly two decades later, the US and Taliban struck a deal, in which the US and NATO allies agreed to withdraw all troops if the Taliban pledged to prevent Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups from using Afghan territory to launch future attacks.

• Phase 2, intra-Afghan dialogue: The US-Taliban peace deal was supposed to set the stage for negotiations between the Afghan govt and Taliban, who have been feuding with each other for years. The Taliban were refusing to meet Afghan govt officials directly, calling them “American Puppets.” Pakistan helped set up the Afghan-govt and Taliban talks as well. Negotiators from the Taliban and Afghan govt have been meeting in Doha since September 12 to discuss an end to decades of conflict in Afghanistan.

The bottom line: Pakistan and Afghanistan have a history of not trusting each other. Now, they want to become better friends.

• Case backstory: Zafar filed a defamation case against Shafi in June 2019, in which he accused her of making false allegations to gain monetary benefits and popularity. In response, Shafi filed a defamation suit against Zafar for making false allegations about her on social media. However, a Lahore sessions court said Shafi can’t do that until there’s a verdict in Zafar’s defamation case against her.

4. What is Pakistan’s top export destination?

The US was Pakistan’s top export destination last month in August, even though proceeds fell by around 6% compared to the same time frame last year. The United Kingdom (UK) came in as Pakistan’s second biggest buyer in August. However, Pakistan imported the most merchandise from China in August. The US has a track record of being a top buyer of Pakistani goods. An article from July 2019 even reported that the US “maintained its position as the top export destination of Pakistani products.”