Today’s top Pakistan current affairs December 03,2020 with download link available in pdf. These are the latest breaking news about Pakistan which will be helpful for aspirants in test preparation of current affairs, Pakistan affairs, General knowledge for NTS, PPSC, CSS, FPSC, KPPSC, SPSC, BPSC, AJKPSC, OTS, PTS, and other Govt Jobs, exams & MDCAT, ECAT Entry test preparation.
One Liner
- Nation to observe Youm-e-Dua tomorrow: President Arif Alvi. President Dr. Arif Alvi has announced that the nation will observe Youm-e-Dua on Friday (tomorrow) to pray to Almighty Allah for protection from the coronavirus pandemic.
- Ehsaas Kafaalat Policy for Special Persons to benefit 2mn families: PM. Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday as many as two million families will benefit from the government’s “Ehsaas Kafaalat Policy for Special Persons.”
- World took proof of Indian terrorism seriously: ISPR DG. ISPR DG Major General Babar Iftikhar said on Thursday that the international community had taken seriously the proof of Indian involvement in fanning terrorism in Pakistan.
- Princes Charles Telephones PM Imran Khan. Britain’s Prince Charles on Thursday made a telephone call to Prime Minister Imran Khan and reiterated his country’s support for Pakistan in fight against the coronavirus.
- Govt Decides To Seal Parliament House Amid COVID-19 Cases. The government has decided to seal the Parliament House after at least 30 of their staffers tested positive for coronavirus last week, reports suggest claiming the building will remain closed until December 9.
- FO Rejects Indian Criticism Over OIC Resolution. Pakistan has said India is disturbing strategic balance in the region through acquisition of arms and military capabilities beyond its legitimate needs.
- 1,100MW nuclear power plant in Karachi near completion. Pakistan has started loading fuel to the under constructed 1,100MW nuclear power plant in Karachi for testing in run-up to its commercial operations in April 2021.
- Pakistani flights denied by EU once again over safety and license concerns. European Union Commission has refused on Wednesday to lift the ban on allowing Pakistani flights to operate in their territory due to a number of reservations that it said Pakistan has yet to address
- Gold rates fall in local market, edge up globally. The per tola gold price witnessed a decline of Rs300 in the domestic market on Thursday
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 3,499 new cases and 39 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 42,904 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on December 3 at 7:40am).
- Not happening in Pakistan but still relevant: The UK approved emergency use for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer in the US, and BioNTech in Germany. Both drugmakers teamed up earlier this year. Pfizer and BioNTech said the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19. The UK is the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for widespread use. The UK is also one of the first countries to begin vaccinating its population. The two-shot vaccine will be given to high-risk and vulnerable groups first (e.g. elderly people in nursing homes, medical workers). The vaccine’s distribution will begin within days.
- On December 1, Special Assistant to the PM on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, said the govt hopes to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine by the first quarter of 2021. Today, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services, Dr. Nausheen Hamid, said the govt will start rolling out a free vaccine by the second quarter of 2021.
- Punjab banned indoor dining in restaurants, hotels and cafes since the COVID-19 situation is getting worse.
- Pakistan’s Law Minister, Farogh Naseem, has COVID-19. He’s in self-quarantine, and will continue to work from home. More than 100 Pakistani politicians have previously tested positive for COVID-19. Shaheen Raza, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member in the Punjab assembly, was reportedly the first Pakistani lawmaker to pass away after getting the virus.
2. Reported milestone in the Afghan peace process
What’s going on? Apparently, there was some notable progress in negotiations between the Afghan govt and Afghan Taliban, which aim to end decades of conflict in Afghanistan.
The details: Peace talks between the Afghan govt and Taliban began in September this year, but things have been moving at a snail’s pace. Now, both sides have apparently come up with rules and procedures for their negotiations, and that’s considered a good sign. The negotiations are about a future political roadmap and ceasefire.
The context: 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 launching future attacks.The US-Taliban 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.”
Looking ahead: It’s still unclear when the ceasefire will take place. The Afghan govt wants the Taliban to halt their attacks across the country, which are ongoing even though negotiations have started. The Taliban said they’ll stop after a peace deal is finalized.
The bottom line: Pakistan reportedly played a key role in setting up direct negotiations between the US and Taliban. Pakistan helped set up the Afghan-govt and Taliban talks as well. Pakistan is saying ‘bravo’ to this apparent breakthrough.
3. Pakistan’s former PM passes away
Former PM, Zafarullah Khan Jamali, passed away at a hospital in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. He was 76-years-old. Jamali was reportedly ill for the past three or four days, and was on a ventilator. Earlier reports said he had a heart attack. Hospital sources claim he died due to heart and kidney failure. PM Imran Khan, army officials, and other politicians wrote condolence messages on Twitter. A few days ago, President Arif Alvi accidentally tweeted that Jamali died when he was still alive, but in critical condition. Jamali was associated with various political parties.
Here’s a rapid-fire recap of Jamali’s political career, which takes us through so many moments in Pakistan’s history:
- In 1964, Jamali stepped into politics to support Fatima Ali Jinnah (i.e. Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s sister), who was running an election against then military ruler, Field Martial Mohammad Ayub Khan. Jamali and other political leaders were arrested for participating in anti-govt rallies.
- In 1970, Jamali contested a provincial assembly seat in Balochistan as an independent candidate, but didn’t win. He tried again in 1977 after joining the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and won. A military coup ousted the PPP govt that same year. General Zia-ul-Haq, who declared martial law, became Pakistan’s military ruler and eventually, President.
- In 1982, Jamali joined Haq’s cabinet as Minister of State for Food and Agriculture.
- In 1985, Jamali served as Federal Minister of Water and Power during the tenure of former PM, Muhammad Khan Junejo. Junejo was appointed PM during Haq’s martial law regime.
- In 1988, Jamali was appointed Chief Minister of Balochistan. He also served as caretaker Chief Minister of Balochistan twice – once in 1988, then again in 1997.
- Jamali was PM of Pakistan from 2002 to 2004. He served as PM during the tenure of former President and military ruler, Pervez Musharraf. He was Pakistan’s first and only elected PM from Balochistan. He was also Pakistan’s first civilian PM since Musharraf’s military coup in 1999, which ousted the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) govt. Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif, who was PM at the time.
- Jamali resigned as PM in 2004. Him and Musharraf apparently weren’t agreeing on several political issues.
- In 2013, Jamali was elected to the National Assembly as an independent, but joined PML-N later on.
- In 2017, PML-N initiated disciplinary action against Jamali for opposing Sharif’s re-election as the party’s president. That year, the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif as PM since he was facing corruption charges (i.e. undeclared sources of income). The bill, which Jamali didn’t vote for, was pushing for Sharif to serve as President of PML-N after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
- In 2018, Jamali resigned from the National Assembly, just days before the end of its term. Some reports claim he resigned for health reasons. While announcing his resignation, he criticized the PML-N led govt for not allocating enough resources to Balochistan in the federal budget.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 42,027.38 after rising 362.11 points (+0.87%) as of December 2, 2020.
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