Today’s top Pakistan current affairs 17th July 2020. 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 MDCAT, ECAT, NTS, PPSC, CSS, FPSC, KPPSC, SPSC, BPSC, OTS, PTS, and other Govt Jobs, exams & Entry test preparation.
One Liner
- Ehsaas programme being enhanced from Rs144bn to Rs203bn. Emergency cash programme will facilitate 17 million families.
- Pakistan welcomes the UN decision to place TTP chief on the sanctions list. Foreign Office says TTP continues to operate from outside Pakistan borders with support from “third-country facilitators”.
- Pakistan offers India consular access to Jadhav for the third time: Foreign Office. Pakistan has offered to give consular access without the presence of a security guard, FO spokesperson says.
- Top Jordanian court dissolves Muslim Brotherhood branch. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, is a pan-Islamic movement with both charitable and political arms.
- Textile exports decline 6pc to $12.5bn. The pace of fall in textile exports slowed down in the last two months owing to a recovery in international orders.
- Crime rate in capital decreased by 29pc. PTI government has ensured that at least 1,950 out of the capital’s 2,000 Safe City cameras remained functional.
- US, Pakistan sign accord on child abduction. According to US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing each year.
NewsRun Spotlights
1/ The black hole of Pak-India relations
What’s going on? Pak-India relations are like a black hole, because there is no end in sight for the quarrel between both countries. The latest clash is over former Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav.
The context: In 2016, Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan and convicted of espionage by a Pakistani military court a year later. India said ‘not so fast’ and looped in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ ordered Pakistan to halt Jadhav’s execution, and requested consular access for India. The ICJ also asked Pakistan to review Jadhav’s death penalty. However, Jadhav is still in the custody of Pakistan’s military.
The details: Yesterday, India claimed its diplomats protested and left a meeting with Jadhav. According to the Indian diplomats, Pakistan wasn’t honoring its agreement to allow “unimpeded” consular access to Jadhav. Indian officials also said they couldn’t obtain Jadhav’s written consent to arrange legal representation, which is needed for a review of his case. Pakistan’s Foreign Office shot back and said Indian officials had “unimpeded” and “uninterrupted” access to Jadhav. This was the second meeting between Jadhav and Indian officials since the ICJ’s ruling.
Looking ahead: India’s consular officers basically wanted to speak with Jadhav freely without Pakistani officials breathing down their necks. Pakistan is ready to give India another consular meeting with Jadhav, this time without security officials present.
The bottom line: Both countries are spinning this story in their favor. On one end, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said, “the Indian officials’ reluctance to meet Jadhav exposed their malice, New Delhi never wanted access in the first place.” On the other hand, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan’s approach continues to be “obstructive and insincere.”
2/ Pumping new life into CPEC: Over the past month, Pakistan and China have signed deals for projects worth $11 billion. The projects include two hydroelectric dams, and a railway upgrade. The railway revamp is part of an ambitious plan to connect Pakistan and China by rail.
- Backstory: These projects are for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China’s large scale infrastructure initiative in Pakistan. CPEC is a part of China’s broader Belt and Road Initiative, an economic development project that will create new trade corridors across Asia, Europe and Africa.
- Delays: Last year, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s govt appointed retired General, Asim Saleem Bajwa, to oversee the CPEC projects. The infrastructure projects and investments reportedly slowed down under PM Khan’s govt. However, Bajwa said ‘false, CPEC hasn’t slacked, projects have picked up, and we’ve done a lot of ground work to launch phase two.’
3/ Pakistani pilots in the clear: A few pilots from Pakistan working for foreign airlines managed to navigate some air pockets (sorry, we had to). You may recall the fake pilot licenses scandal. Pakistan’s Aviation Minister revealed that around 260 pilots in Pakistan have illegitimate licenses and are not qualified to fly. At least 150 of these pilots work for national airline carrier, PIA. Since then, airlines in 10 countries demanded proof to make sure 176 Pakistani pilot licenses were valid. Yesterday, Pakistani authorities said they confirmed 166 out of 176 credentials for pilots working with foreign airlines.
Current Affairs Quiz: [Quiz] GK & Pakistan Current Affairs Quiz 16 July 2020
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