Today’s top Pakistan current affairs January 11, 2021 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
- The response of messaging app Signal to tweet “dump WhatsApp” goes viral. WhatsApp’s new policy update has raised security concerns and a number of social media users are criticizing the facebook-owned app.
- A five-day nationwide polio vaccination drive begins today. A five-day polio immunization drive has commenced across Pakistan today during which over 40.1 million children will be administered oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) to prevent children from the crippling disease
- Dr. Aafia refused to meet Pakistan’s consul general, IHC told. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed on Monday that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui declined to meet Pakistan’s consul general in Houston when he visited the prison where she is detained to seek her consent for filing a mercy petition before the US Department of Justice.
- Indonesia hopes to retrieve black boxes of a crashed jet from the Java Sea. Indonesian divers on Monday will try to retrieve the data recorders of a Sriwijaya Air jet that plunged into the sea two days ago with 62 people on board minutes after takeoff from Jakarta’s main airport.
- Over 20m lost livelihood due to lockdowns in Pakistan: a survey. More than 20 million people lost their livelihood due to lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of Covid-19, a survey conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed.
- A judicial inquiry in Osama Satti murder suggests trial under the anti-terrorism act. A judicial inquiry into the murder of an Islamabad youngster, Osama Satti, has pointed the blame on concerned SP and DSP in the case for showing negligence, besides also suggesting a trial against five ATS personnel under the anti-terrorism act
- Sindh govt decides issuance of Benazir Bhutto Mazdoor Cards. The Sindh government has decided to commence issuance of Benazir Bhutto Mazdoor Cards in order to provide essential facilities and grants to the industrial laborers
- No organized terrorist infrastructure exists in Pakistan today: DG ISPR. Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar has said that no organized terrorist infrastructure exists in Pakistan today as the country fought successfully against the internal and external security challenges
- Rupee weakens against dollar. The Pakistani rupee weakened against the United States (US) dollar as it depreciated by Rs0.22 against the greenback on the first trading day of the week.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,877 new cases and 32 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 34,524 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on January 11 at 8:17am).
2. Blackout
What’s going on? There was a countrywide blackout in Pakistan on Saturday night. As of yesterday evening, electricity has reportedly been restored in most cities and towns.
The details: The blackout affected urban areas like Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Multan, as well as smaller towns and cities. There was reportedly a breakdown in Pakistan’s national power grid. Pakistan’s Power Minister, Omar Ayub Khan, said a sudden drop in the power transmission system’s frequency caused the widespread blackout. In an initial report, the Ministry of Energy said there was a fault at the Guddu Thermal Power Plant in Sindh, which caused power plants across the country to shut down.
Tell me more: There were apparently no immediate reports about disrupted power supplies at hospitals, which are supposed to rely on back-up generators. All major airports in the country reportedly have back up generators as well. The spokesperson for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Abdullah Khan, said all flight operations remained functional. However, the blackout did cause internet outages. People rushed to gas stations to buy petrol for their home generators (i.e. those who can afford to keep petrol-run generators at home).
The bottom line: Power breakdowns are pretty common in Pakistan. An investigation
3. PM Khan visits Hazara mourners
PM Khan spoke to a delegation of the Shiite Hazara community in Quetta on Saturday afternoon. He also visited relatives of the coal miners who were murdered last Sunday. PM Khan flew to Quetta hours after the Hazara community ended their six-day sit-in. Protestors agreed to bury the bodies after talks with govt negotiators. Hazara protestors, including women and children, refused to bury their dead until PM Khan spoke to them in person. In response to this demand, PM Khan said he would only visit after the protestors buried the bodies. He also said, “…you cannot blackmail the PM of any country like this.” He got a lot of criticism for calling the mourners blackmailers. PM Khan tried to clarify his “blackmail” comment, saying that making his visit a “condition” set the wrong precedent.
- Backstory: The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for executing 11 coal miners from the minority Hazara community. The IS militants abducted, then shot and killed the miners in Balochistan’s Mach area. The miners were blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their backs. Authorities have been raiding militant hideouts to track down the killers. Members of the Hazara community organized a sit-in protest to highlight their plight. Violent attacks against Shiites and other religious minorities are a continuous problem in Pakistan. PM Khan claimed that India is backing IS militants to “spread unrest” in Pakistan, and that Pakistan’s security agencies agree. He even alleged that India instructed IS militants to attack the Hazara coal miners.
4. Three sentenced to death for blasphemy
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad sentenced three men to death for allegedly committing blasphemy. Rana Nouman, Abdul Waheed and Nasir Ahmad were accused of sharing insulting social media posts about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). A college professor at Islamabad Model College, Anwaar Ahmed, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly giving a blasphemous lecture. The four men were arrested in 2017, and they pleaded “not guilty.” They have the option to file appeals in a higher court to overturn their conviction, or ask the president for mercy. This is reportedly the first case where people have gotten a death sentence for sharing blasphemous content on social media.
- Backstory: According to the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, dozens of people are on death row under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, while others are serving life imprisonment.
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