Today’s top Pakistan current affairs December 14,2020 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
- Hafeez Shaikh given additional charge of Revenue Division. Federal Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh was given additional charge of the Revenue Division on Monday
- NEPRA increases electricity price by Rs1.11. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has increased the electricity price by Rs1.11 per unit for a month
- Pakistan to repay US$ two billion loan to Saudi Arabia on schedule. Pakistan will repay US$ two billion loan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as per the repayment schedule
- Pakistan condemns terrorist attacks on Saudi oil vessels. Pakistan strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on oil transport vessels and a petroleum distribution station in Saudi Arabia on Monday
- Sindh announces salaries to Christian employees before Christmas. On the eve of biggest religious occasion for the Christian community Christmas, the finance department of Sindh government has announced on Monday advance salaries to all Christians employed in government departments
- WB allows Pakistan to utilise PREP funds for Covid vaccine procurement. The World Bank on Monday agreed over providing funding to Pakistan for advance purchases of coronavirus vaccines
- Pakistan women’s cricket team to tour South Africa in January. Pakistan women’s cricket team will play three ODI and two T20Is in South Africa from January next year.
- Gold prices go down in domestic, global markets amid vaccine optimism. Gold prices in Pakistan witnessed a declining trend on the first day of the week on Monday
- Pakistani rupee weakens against US dollar. The Pakistani rupee ended weaker against the United States (US) dollar in the interbank market on Monday.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 2,362 new cases and 36 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 31,830 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on December 14 at 7:49am).
- United States (US) approves COVID-19 vaccine: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use approval to a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech. The vaccine will start being administered to “high priority” recipients by the end of today (i.e. healthcare workers, long-term care residents). The US administration aims to vaccinate 20 million health workers and residents of long-term care homes before the end of the year. Initial supply of the vaccine will be limited. In other words, life won’t be back to normal anytime soon.
- Virus spreads to the entertainment industry: Pakistani actress, Mahira Khan, announced she has COVID-19. She is self-isolating. She also said “it’s been rough, but it will be okay soon. InshAllah.”
2. Anti-govt rally’s latest stop: Minar-e-Pakistan
What’s going on? The opposition alliance, comprised of 11 political opposition parties, held an anti-govt rally at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore over the weekend. Their main demand: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has to go. Opposition parties claim to be protesting over increased inflation, a weak economy, stifled civil liberties, and media censorship. Tens of thousands of people showed up to the rally, despite rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
The details: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are some of the biggest opposition parties in the alliance. In previous rallies, PML-N Supremo and former PM, Nawaz Sharif, accused the army and intelligence officials of rigging the 2018 election that brought PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt into power. This time, Sharif addressed the protest via video and blamed PM Khan for the country’s problems. Sharif also repeated his accusations against the army.
Tell me more: Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, justified protesting in the middle of a pandemic by saying, “I value and care for your life, but it’s important to attend public meetings because COVID-18 (i.e. likely a reference to the 2018 election) is more dangerous than COVID-19.” PPP Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, accused “the establishment” of forming govts of their choice (i.e. “establishment” is usually a reference to the country’s military and intelligence services). JUI-F Chief, Fazlur Rehman, chimed in with accusations about the establishment’s election rigging in 2018.
Looking ahead: The govt thinks protestors are trying to distract the public from corruption allegations against opposition party leaders. PM Khan called the rally “pathetic.” He accused the opposition alliance of endangering people’s lives by bringing big crowds together during a pandemic. PTI leaders are also playing the ‘my rally was bigger than your rally’ game. According to PTI, PM Khan organized a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan a few years ago that was much bigger than the opposition alliance’s rally, even with their 11 parties combined.
The bottom line: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (i.e. opposition alliance) has been organizing rallies in different cities. These protests are leading up to a “march on Islamabad” in January. The govt is still not budging.
3. Explosion in Rawalpindi injures 25
On Sunday, at least 25 people were reported injured when a blast went off near Rawalpindi’s Ganj Mandi Police Station. This was reportedly the second blast in the city within 10 days. The previous blast was also near a police station. However, in both cases, civilians were predominantly the victims. This latest blast is a developing situation, and some details are still unclear. For instance, what kind of blast was it? Who was responsible?
4. China helps Pakistan pick up the tab (again)
China helped Pakistan pay $2 billion in debt to Saudi Arabia. China contributed $1.5 billion to the total $2 billion. This debt repayment reportedly came from a bilateral Currency-Swap Agreement (CSA) between Pakistan and China. As of now, the CSA amounts to 10 billion Chinese Yuan (i.e. $4.5 billion). The $1.5 billion from China apparently won’t count as an extra loan, or debt on Pakistan’s part. Instead, the money is being taken out of the CSA. The State Bank of Pakistan and Finance Ministry didn’t deny or confirm this development. A state bank spokesperson merely said “it’s a bilateral confidential matter.”
- What exactly is a CSA? Pakistan and China signed a CSA in 2011 to strengthen bilateral trade and financial cooperation. As a part of the agreement, Pakistani importers can pay for Chinese goods in China’s currency. Another factor of the agreement was to reduce the need for US dollars in Pakistan. Pakistan has reportedly been using the CSA trade facility to repay foreign debt as well (i.e. in this story’s case, debt to Saudi Arabia).
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