Today’s top Pakistan current affairs December 10,2020 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
- Two soldiers martyred in Indian firing along LoC. Two Pakistani soldiers were martyred after Indian forces opened fire along the Line of Control in Kashmir.
- Lahore woman, daughter die after eating ‘poisonous dahi bhalley’. A woman and her daughter died of food poisoning while other family members fell sick on Thursday after eating dahi bhalley from a street shop.
- Oil tankers association threatens countrywide strike on Dec 16. The All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association has said that it will hold a countrywide strike against a government order on tankers’ movement.
- Government discontinues Rs25,000 prize bonds. The government has discontinued the Rs25,000 denomination prize bonds with immediate effect. It will no longer issue these bonds while those in possession can be cashed or replaced with other bonds by May 31, 2021.
- CTD arrests five RAW-linked terrorists from Lahore. Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab police on Thursday claimed to have apprehended five Indian spy agency RAW-linked terrorists belonging from Lahore
- Pakistan calls upon int’l community to hold India accountable for HR violations in IoK. Pakistan has called upon the international community to hold India accountable for its serious crimes against the Kashmiri people and human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).
- Ertuğrul star Engin Altan Düzyatan arrives in Pakistan for short visit. Ertuğrul star Engin Altan Duzyatan has arrived in Pakistan early on Thursday, announced the official Twitter account of the Embassy of Pakistan in Turkey.
- International Human Rights Day Being Observed Today. The day is being observed to raise awareness about human equality, dignity and justice.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 3,138 new cases and 56 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 40,202 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on December 10 at 8:09am).
2. Pakistan listed as “violator of religious freedom”
What’s going on? United States (US) Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the US is taking action to defend the right of religious freedom. According to Pompeo’s press statement, the US is designating Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as “Countries of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
The details: Yes, Pakistan made it to the list, are you surprised? That means the US is pointing fingers at Pakistan for engaging in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Tell me more: Pompeo’s press statement didn’t cite examples of how Pakistan is engaging in or tolerating violations of religious freedom. However, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom noted examples of how Pakistan is restricting freedom of religion:
- The systemic enforcement of anti-Ahmadi laws and blasphemy laws
- Failure to address forced religious conversions of minorities to Islam (e.g. Hindus, Christians and Sikhs).
Looking ahead: It’s not clear what action the US is taking beyond designating the mentioned countries.
The bottom line: Pakistan is not happy about this. In fact Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) straight up rejected the US designation. The FO is skeptical of how countries were selected in the first place, especially since India isn’t on the list. The FO is wondering why the US overlooked India’s alleged religious freedom violations, especially against its Muslim minority community.
3. Court says fake pilot licenses report likely incorrect
According to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), an earlier report about 262 pilots having fake licences is most likely incorrect. The IHC has doubts about the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority’s review process for the pilot licences. The IHC’s Chief Justice claimed the fake license report damaged the country’s image. For example, the news triggered a shockwave of international bans on Pakistani airlines, downgraded air safety ratings, and grounded Pakistani pilots in other countries.
- The plane crash: On May 22, 2020, a PIA Airbus A320 (i.e. PK-8303) crashed in Karachi, killing 97 people on board. Two passengers survived. A teenage girl on the ground, who was injured when the plane fell, died later on. Pilots reported the loss of both engines. According to initial reports, the plane scraped its engines on the runway while trying to land the first time. The plane crashed over Model Colony while coming in for a second landing attempt. Initial findings suggest the pilots and air traffic control didn’t follow protocol. A full investigation into the crash is still ongoing.
- The fake license report: After the May 2020 PIA crash, Pakistan’s Aviation Minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, told Parliament that more than 262 of Pakistan’s 860 active commercial pilots have fake licenses and are not qualified to fly. These pilots allegedly paid others to take a certification exam for them.
4. Claims about opposition alliance’s funding
Earlier this year, an alliance of opposition parties launched an anti-govt campaign. This alliance is called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). They are staging protests against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt, and pushing for new elections. Opposition members in PDM believe a rigged election brought Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and his PTI govt into power. In a recent development, Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari, claimed the govt has “information” that people involved in PDM are receiving funding from abroad. However, she didn’t bring up any evidence. She did say the govt would take action once it receives “concrete evidence.”
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 42,204.03 after rising 102.25 points (+0.24%) as of December 9, 2020.
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