Today’s top Pakistan current affairs February 24, 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
- PM Calls On Sri Lankan President. Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasized the importance of building robust economic partnership between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, characterized by enhanced bilateral trade, investment and commercial cooperation.
- Pakistan invites Sri Lanka to invest in CPEC, tourism. Prime Minister Imran Khan has invited the Sri Lankan business community to invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
- Pakistan to Get a New Modern Air Defense System Soon. Air Chief Marshal, Mujahid Anwar Khan, on Wednesday said that Pakistan will soon get a new state-of-the-art Air Defense System.
- FATF: Announcement To Be Made Tomorrow To Keep Pakistan On Gray List Or Not. The review meeting of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regarding the Asia pacific report on Pakistan will conclude today after which announcement regarding keeping Pakistan on a gray list or remove it from the list will be made until tomorrow.
- Indian Troops Martyr Four Youth In IIOJK. In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred four Kashmiri youth in Islamabad district, today.
- WhatsApp will switch off messages for users who reject new terms. The Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp announced that users who do not accept its updated terms and conditions by the 15 May deadline will be unable to receive or send messages.
- Pakistan to reopen cinemas, allow indoor weddings from March 15. The National Command and Operation Centre has decided to allow indoor weddings and reopening of cinemas and shrines in Pakistan from March 15. However, the coronavirus SOPs will remain in place.
- Pakistani Rupee Rises to Its Highest in 3 Months Against the US Dollar. The current week has seen consistent improvement for the PKR against the US Dollar. After touching its highest value on November 17, 2020, at Rs. 158.31 to the USD, the PKR is at its three-month highest once again, with an exchange rate of Rs. 158.76 to the greenback.
- Gold prices fall in domestic market. The per tola gold price on Wednesday witnessed a decrease of Rs50 to Rs110,650 in the domestic market
- Islamabad United Beat Karachi Kings By 5 Wickets. Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by five wickets in the sixth fixture of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Karachi’s National Stadium on Wednesday.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,196 new cases and 50 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 38,453 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on February 24 at 7:55am).
2. Suspected irregularities during the NA-75 by-election
What’s going on? People are closely following the Sialkot Daska NA-75 by-election. The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party demanded a repoll due to suspected vote tampering and rigging. PML-N is also pointing fingers at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for creating an “environment of terror” at polling stations in the Daska constituency. In return, PTI leader and Minister for Information, Shibli Faraz, accused PML-N of “disturbing law and order” during the by-elections.
The details: A by-election is taking place in NA-75, because the previous PML-N candidate who filled the seat passed away. Now, nine candidates from different parties are competing for that seat, including PML-N’s Nousheen Iftikhar Shah and PTI’s Ali Asjad Malhi.
Tell me more: On Friday, February 19, PML-N Secretary General, Ahsan Iqbal, gave a video message. He was speaking from Daska at around 3:45 a.m. local time. In the video, Iqbal said PML-N’s candidate is in the lead. He also said the returning officer (i.e. the person who oversees elections in one or more constituencies) already received results from 370 polling stations. However, staff members at 23 other polling stations apparently disappeared, or in Iqbal’s words “were made to disappear.” The missing polling staff showed up at around 6:00 a.m.
Vote theft allegation: Iqbal wants a repoll from the 23 polling stations. He thinks PML-N’s win was pretty clear, and some people who lost ran off with the votes to cover it up. PTI leaders shot back and said PML-N only complains about rigging when they lose an election.
Now what? On Saturday, February 20, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) stated that results from 20 polling stations in NA-75 might be false. However, Faraz still tweeted that PTI likely won NA-75 based on results their polling agents received. Even PTI leader and Minister for Planning, Asad Umar, insisted that PTI won NA-75. On February 22, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asked one of the candidates in his PTI party to request a repoll in 20 polling stations. PM Khan said he did this to “strengthen a fair and free election process.”
The bottom line: PTI and PML-N are caught up in a blame game. The ECP pointed out suspicious delays in receiving election results, and said they couldn’t get in touch with officers at some polling stations. The ECP isn’t ready to announce the final results, saying an investigation needs to ensure the election was fair.
3. President Arif Alvi criticizes the anti-separatism bill
The French foreign ministry is upset about comments President Alvi made about France’s “anti-separatism bill.” Alvi thinks the bill sets a “dangerous precedent.” He claimed France is making laws in favor of the majority, while minority groups (e.g. Muslims) are being isolated. The French foreign ministry denied President Alvi’s claims, saying the bill doesn’t have any discriminatory elements and applies equally to all faiths. On February 14, around 150 people in France (i.e. including Muslims and non-Muslims) staged a peaceful protest against the bill, claiming it restricts religious freedom and stigmatizes French Muslims. People with other religious backgrounds, such as Buddhist or Roman Catholic, have voiced concerns about the bill as well.
- Backstory: The legislation, which the French National Assembly adopted last week, challenges religious extremism and reinforces France’s secular identity. It discourages “separatism,” meaning, France’s political leadership wants all people to welcome secularism, gender equality and other French values. President Macron’s govt said the bill is needed to protect French values and prevent the creation of radical ideas that could trigger violence. France’s Senate still needs to look at the legislation.
- Something to know: The bill follows last year’s beheading of history teacher, Samuel Paty. He was killed after showing caricatures of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) during a class discussion about freedom of expression. Paty’s killer, Abdoullakh Anzorov, was an 18-year-old refugee of Chechen origin. In the past, President Macron has accused Muslims of trying to “separate” themselves from French society.
4. Karachi police got some new wheels
We’re not talking about cars. We’re talking about rollerblades (P.S. this isn’t a satire story, we checked). Police in Karachi deployed a 20-member armed rollerblading unit to limit theft and harassment in the city. Chief of the unit, Farrukh Ali, said they wanted to come up with an innovative way to control street crime. Ali said rollerblades could make it easier for officers to zip through the city while chasing thieves on motorcycles. Ali admitted that many roads and footpaths in Karachi aren’t exactly ‘rollerblade friendly.’ However, the rollerblading unit will be sent to places with more reported incidents of theft and harassment. The rollerblading unit will also carry handguns and not heavier weapons that could weigh them down, or potentially cause bullet-related accidents.
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