Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 04, 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 Imran Announces To Take Vote of Confidence From NA. Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to take fresh vote of confidence from National Assembly on Saturday through open ballot, which should be the standard practice.
- Pakistan Army conducts ‘Zarb-e-Hadeed’ drills in Bahwalpur: ISPR. Annual collective training Zarb-e-Hadeed exercise underway in Bahawalpur, quoting Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)
- Court stops govt from acquiring land for Ravi urban project. The Lahore High Court (LHC) has stopped the government from acquiring land for the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project besides seeking a response from the concerned authorities
- OGDCL slashes LPG prices by Rs22 per kilo as summers kick in. The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) of Pakistan has Thursday announced an Rs22 slash in Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices in the country
- Iran returns 125 illegal Pakistani immigrants. Iranian border forces arrested on Thursday 125 Pakistanis for illegally entering the country, according to the Levies.
- Saudi Arabia makes COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for Hajj 2021. Only people who have administered the coronavirus vaccines will be able to perform Hajj this year, the health ministry of Saudi Arabia has announced, according to Al-Jazeera.
- Met Office forecast extended summer in Pakistan this year. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast an extended summer in the country this year
- Gold prices fall in domestic market. The per tola gold price on Thursday witnessed a decrease of Rs2,050 to Rs104,300 in the domestic market
- PSL 6 postponed over rising Covid-19 cases. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided on Thursday to postpone the ongoing sixth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL 6) after multiple players tested Covid-19 positive.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,519 new cases and 64 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 40,473 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 4 at 7:18am).
- Update on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine: According to COVAX’s latest distribution list, Pakistan will receive 14.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of May. The vaccines will arrive in two batches – the first in February and March and the second in April and May. COVAX is a global initiative that aims to provide lower income countries with equal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
2. Prime Minister to face confidence vote from parliament
What’s going on? Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence from parliament after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt lost a high-profile Senate seat from the capital, Islamabad.
The details: PTI candidate, Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, lost against former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was a joint candidate of the opposition alliance. Gilani secured 169 out of 340 votes, while Shaikh got 164. Even though Shaikh lost the Senate election, he can continue to serve as Finance Minister.
Tell me more: Legislators from Pakistan’s provincial assemblies and National Assembly vote in the Senate election. PTI’s ruling alliance has a majority in the National Assembly, which is why PM Khan and his govt were expecting Shaikh to win the Senate seat from Islamabad. Gilani’s win suggests that some members of the PTI party defected and voted for the opposition candidate.
Corruption allegations: PTI also accused Gilani’s son, Ali Haider Gilani, of buying votes for his dad. PTI made this allegation after watching a leaked video. The younger Gilani denied PTI’s accusation, saying he was in the video with other lawmakers, but not buying votes for his dad.
Looking ahead: While addressing a press conference with senior PTI leaders, Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said the vote of confidence will show who stands with PM Khan, and who doesn’t. Some might think PM Khan seeking a vote of confidence is a risky move. However, Information Minister, Shibli Faraz, shared a different perspective. He said the vote is meant to show PM Khan’s political opponents that he still has the confidence of parliament.
Something to know: In the days leading up to the Senate election, the opposition alliance (i.e. Pakistan Democratic Movement) claimed that a win for Gilani would mean a “vote of no-confidence” against PM Khan. A vote of confidence is a procedure that members of a legislative body use to show their support, or lack of support, for a leader. If there is a vote of “no-confidence” that means legislators no longer have confidence in an individual’s leadership.
The bottom line: Media reports suggest PTI gained enough of a majority in the Senate. However, the lost seat from Islamabad is reportedly a significant blow to PM Khan and his govt.
3. We haven’t forgotten the motorway gang rape case
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) formally charged Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, two primary suspects in the motorway gang rape case. Both men pleaded “not guilty” and plan to challenge the ruling. The court heard from 10 witnesses after the accused men denied the charges. The court adjourned proceedings for now, but plans to call in more witnesses for the next hearing. According to police, there is sufficient evidence against the accused men.
- Backstory: In September last year, two robbers allegedly raped a woman at gunpoint on the motorway. She was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala with her children. Her car ran out of fuel while she was crossing the toll plaza on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway. Two armed men took her and her children to a nearby field at gunpoint and gang-raped her. The robbers also snatched her cash, jewellery and other valuables. Our Special Report from last year goes into a deeper dive of the incident, and breaks down the root causes of rape culture in Pakistan.
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