Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 05, 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
- Air Chief Meets Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan called on the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.
- Rangers Personnel Injured in Karachi. A Sindh Rangers personnel has suffered injuries in an event of gunfire taking place Thursday in Sachal Goth area of Gulshan e Iqbal Town.
- ECP Rejects Govt Allegations Regarding Senate Elections. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday has expressed disappointment over the statements of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and federal ministers regarding the voting process and results of Senate polls
- Now You Can Make Audio, Video Calls From WhatsApp Desktop Version. The Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp on Thursday announced introducing a voice and video calling feature on its desktop version.
- Punjab govt rejects private schools’ plea to hike tuition fees. The Punjab School Education Department has rejected the application of private schools for hiking annual tuition fees up to eight per cent
- At least 14 killed by avalanche in northern Afghanistan: officials. At least 14 people were killed after an avalanche hit a gold mine in a remote area of northern Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban, officials said Friday.
- Karachi experiences hot weather as mercury soars to 36 ºCelsius. People in Karachi experiencing hot weather as mercury has soared to 36 ºCelsius in the port city, said the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday.
- Gold prices continue to fall in domestic market. Gold prices extended a downward trend in the domestic market for the second consecutive day on Friday as per tola price of yellow metal decreased by Rs1,500 to Rs102,750
- PCB Mulls Over Options For Rescheduling Remaining Matches of PSL. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling over rescheduling remaining matches of PSL sixth edition as it was postponed after 14 matches due to increasing cases of coronavirus.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 1,579 cases and 52 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 37,998 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 5 at 7:06am).
- COVID-19 disrupts cricket tournament: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament had to be suspended after seven players tested positive for COVID-19. PSL is Pakistan’s highly anticipated Twenty20 cricket tournament, which started last month on February 20. International players participate in this tournament as well, and three of these players are among the seven people who tested positive for the virus. Before the suspension, authorities allowed PSL to increase its crowd capacity from 20% to 50%.
2. Prime Minister blames Senate setback on corruption
What’s going on? Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan made a televised address to the nation. He said he will seek a confidence motion in the National Assembly on Saturday, which will be done via an open ballot system, not a secret ballot system like the recent Senate election. A secret ballot system is when people vote confidentially, and an open ballot system is when people vote openly. This means PM Khan will be able to see who votes for or against him.
The gist of PM Khan’s speech:
- Hating on secret ballots: He accused the political opposition alliance of using the secret ballot system to buy votes for their joint candidate, former PM, Yousaf Raza Gilani. Gilani defeated the govt’s Finance Minister, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who was the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate. Shaikh and Gilani were competing for the Senate seat from Islamabad.
- Alleged bribery: PM Khan alleged that the opposition alliance was a big proponent of the secret ballot, because they were planning to “use money” and pay lawmakers to vote for Gilani. With a secret ballot, PM Khan’s PTI party wouldn’t be able to see which members were defecting and voting for the opposition.
- Et tu, Brute? Without naming anyone, PM Khan alleged that 15 or 16 PTI members were bribed to vote against their own party-backed candidate.
- The infamous NRO: PM Khan brought up The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). He claimed the opposition alliance tried to make his PTI party lose the Senate seat from Islamabad so they could threaten him with a no-confidence vote, unless he gave them an NRO (i.e. amnesty to politicians, political workers, and bureaucrats accused of corruption).
- In conclusion: A rough english translation of what he said: ‘If I’m not in power, it won’t make any difference to my life.’ He also gave a pointed warning: ‘Whether I’m sitting in the opposition, or out of the National Assembly, I won’t spare you (i.e. broad reference to corrupt people) until you return this country’s money.’ It sounds like he wants to remain politically active, even if he’s not in the govt, or in power.
Looking ahead: On Wednesday, Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister on Information, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, claimed that PTI got a majority in the Senate. Results were still rolling in on Wednesday. Media reports also suggested that PTI and its allies will have enough seats to gain a majority in the Senate. PM Khan’s PTI party gained new Senate seats, and became the largest party in the Senate. However, according to updated reports yesterday, PTI’s ruling coalition is still a few seats short of a clear majority.
What if PM Khan gets a “no-confidence” vote? According to Bloomberg, he will either have to resign, or dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections.
The bottom line: PM Khan is seeking a confidence vote to show that a majority of lawmakers in the National Assembly (i.e. lower house of parliament) still support him. He wants to prove that corruption is the problem, not a lack of confidence in his leadership. He believes the secret ballot system fueled vote trading (i.e. money in exchange for votes), which is why PTI lost the high-profile Senate seat from Islamabad.
3. Pakistani-American nominated to help lead SBA
US President Joe Biden nominated Dilawar Syed as Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The US Senate still needs to confirm Syed’s nomination. Syed is a tech entrepreneur who lives in California. He is President and CEO at Lumiata, a health tech company that uses machine learning to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes. Syed is also a Charter Member of OPEN Silicon Valley, a global network of Pakistani entrepreneurs. According to OPEN’s Silicon Valley chapter, Syed has been mentoring startups and championing small businesses for decades.
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