Today’s top Pakistan current affairs January 22, 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
- Rs25.5 billion approved for Karachi’s K-IV water supply project. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved Rs25.5 billion for the Greater Karachi Water Supply project, also known as the K-IV.
- Government issues ordinance to extend PM’s construction package. President Arif Alvi has issued an amending ordinance for the construction sector to extend the amnesty scheme for another six months. The FBR will not be inquiring about sources of income from builders and investors till June 30.
- Indian fire injures 18-year-old girl in Kashmir: ISPR. An eighteen-year-old girl was injured after Indian border forces resorted to unprovoked firing across the Line of Control on Friday, the Pakistani military said.
- Pakistan advises the Taliban, Afghan government to accept ‘change’ in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi advised on Friday Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to talk to the Taliban and their sympathizers and convince them to give up violence.
- China’s CanSino to give Pakistan 20m coronavirus vaccine doses. Chinese vaccine maker CanSino Biologics has offered 20 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan, Bloomberg reported Friday.
- CAA issues new SOPs for international flight crews. The Civil Aviation Authority has issued new SOPs for international flight crews entering Pakistan.
- Pakistan Strongly Condemns Twin Suicide Blasts In Baghdad. Pakistan has strongly condemned twin suicide blasts in Baghdad, which resulted in loss of 32 precious human lives and injuries to several others.
- Examinations will be held this year at any cost: Saeed Ghani. Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani on Friday has said that examinations will be held at any cost this year and no student will be promoted to the next class without clearing the assessment process
- PTA Blocks Ahmadiyya Website Making False Claims About Islam. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked the website ‘www.trueislam.com’ for viewership in the country.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 1,745 cases and 47 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 35,839 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on January 22 at 7:50am).
- China’s gift to Pakistan: 500,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by January 31. This will be the SinoPharm vaccine, which Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority approved for emergency use on Monday. However, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan will definitely need more vaccine doses, at least 1.1 million, in the near future. In response, China’s foreign minister said ‘don’t worry, we got you.’ The Beijing Institute of Biological Products, which is a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate SinoPharm, developed the vaccine. According to the company’s preliminary data, final-stage trials showed the SinoPharm vaccine to be 79.3% effective.
- Pakistan’s vaccination goals: The country hopes to vaccinate at least 70% of its adult population to achieve herd immunity. Herd immunity is when most of a population is immune to an infectious disease.
2. US declares China’s treatment of Uighurs “genocide”
What’s going on? During their final days in office, the administration of former Republican President, Donald Trump, left a doozy of a message for China. The State Department accused China of committing “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” through its oppression of Uighur Muslims, and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. Former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, accused Chinese officials of engaging in the “forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group.” Pompeo also said, “I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state.”
The details: In return, China imposed sanctions on Pompeo and more than a dozen Trump administration officials for interfering in China’s internal affairs, disrupting US-China relations, offending the Chinese people, and hurting China’s interests. The Chinese govt called the latest “genocide” declaration a “lie,” and said it’s only trying to fight “terrorism and extremism.”
Tell me more: Last year, Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign team also said China’s actions amounted to “genocide.” Biden’s new nominee for secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, agrees with the genocide declaration.
The context: Chinese officials have allegedly carried out forced sterilizations and family separations to suppress Uighurs. According to media reports, China has detained hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and placed them in forced labor camps.
Looking ahead: During a virtual event yesterday, Pakistan’s national security advisor and special assistant to the prime minister (PM), Moeed Yusuf, appeared to deflect a question on the Uighur subject. He immediately brought up India’s alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and said, ‘if we’re going to talk about human rights, let’s support the cause of human rights across the board.’ He then said Pakistan and China have a “special relationship,” where there is “total transparency,” and every conversation they want to have, even if there’s an issue, happens “in confidence.” In other words, China and Pakistan “have channels to discuss everything,” and “resolve issues” even if whatever they’re talking about isn’t made public.
The bottom line: While PM Imran Khan is trying to be a champion for Muslims around the world, there’s still no clear answer on how Pakistan feels about reported human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in China. Since Pakistan and China have the ultimate bromance, it sounds like Pakistan is choosing to keep its views (if any) private. China has come to Pakistan’s financial “rescue” in the past via loans. Don’t forget China’s $60 billion infrastructure investment in Pakistan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Plus, as we mentioned above, China is even gifting Pakistan COVID-19 vaccines.
3. What people are talking about
Two women who introduced themselves as Uzma and Dia own a cafe called Cannoli in Islamabad. They’re getting tons of social media backlash. In this video, they can be seen talking to their cafe’s manager, Owais, who has worked with them for nine years. Critics are accusing the women of being “condescending,” “elitist,” and “shameful” since they appear to be mocking Owais’ spoken English. Cannoli posted an apology, saying so many people have “misconstrued our banter with a team member…if anyone was hurt or offended we apologize.” However, some people don’t think the apology is good enough, since “banter” or “gup shup” shouldn’t be an excuse for disrespectful behavior. #BoycottCannoli is trending on Twitter. Now, Cannoli Lahore is saying ‘please don’t cancel us, the Cannoli Islamabad owners are different, we are a separately owned franchise.’
4. Nepali team makes history after climbing K2
A 10-member Nepali climbing team became the first to scale K2 in the winter season. K2, which is in Pakistan, is the second-highest mountain in the world. They reportedly persevered through hurricane-level winds and freezing temperatures (i.e. minus 65 degrees Celsius/minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit). Just thinking about this is making us feel cold! The climbers sang Nepal’s national anthem when they reached the top. Pakistan’s northern area is home to some of the world’s tallest mountains, including K2.
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