Today’s top Pakistan current affairs April 15, 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 launches Rehmatul-Lil Alameen scholarship program. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan Thursday launched the Rehmatul-Lil Alameen scholarship program in Islamabad.
- COAS Bajwa Visits Headquarters Of Fauji Foundation. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday visited headquarters of Fauji Foundation, Inter Service Public Relations reported.
- Pakistan cuts petrol price by Rs1.79. The government has reduced the price of petrol by Rs1.79, Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced Thursday.
- PM launches Pakistan Medical Commission Online Service. Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched Pakistan Medical Commission Online Service to facilitate doctors, dentists and students to apply online for licenses, certificates and verification.
- Fawad Chaudhry appointed information minister in cabinet reshuffle. In a cabinet shuffle on Thursday, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry was appointed minister for information and broadcasting for the second time.
- Pakistan supports US troop withdrawal in coordination with Afghan stakeholders: FO. The Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said on Thursday that Pakistan supports the principle of responsible troop withdrawal in coordination with Afghan stakeholders
- Sindh extends closure of shrines upto May 16. The Sindh government has decided to extend closure of shrines for general public across the province amid third wave of Covid-19 cases in country
- Minister’s reply sought on plea for cancellation of A/O level exams. The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed on Thursday Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood to file his reply to a petition seeking cancellation of A and O level exams.
- UAE played part in India-Pakistan ceasefire, says diplomat. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) played a role in getting longtime rivals Pakistan and India to agree to a cease-fire amid tensions over the disputed region of Kashmir, the Emirati ambassador to Washington said.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 4,681 new cases and 135 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 48,092 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on April 14 at 8:49am).
- Manufacturing a vaccine in Pakistan: The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Pakistan is reportedly planning to make a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s how it’s going to work. Remember the clinical trials for China’s CanSino Biologics vaccine that took place in Pakistan? Now, the NIH is asking China to send over the technology and raw materials needed to make a single-dose vaccine in Pakistan. A Chinese team is expected to oversee the NIH team during the manufacturing process. Manufacturing will begin once a new plant is ready.
2. Govt decides to ban far-right religious party
What’s going on? Pakistan’s govt is planning to ban the far-right religious party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). TLP has been holding protests in multiple cities since Monday. At least two policemen have been killed and more than 340 wounded while clashing with demonstrators. Protestors abducted law enforcement officials as well, and tried to break the emergency doors at Lahore General Hospital while following a police officer. Interior Minister, Sheikh Rasheed, announced the proposed ban on TLP under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism legislation.
The details: Police arrested TLP chief, Saad Hussain Rizvi, who is the son of TLP’s deceased founder. Rizvi’s arrest caused an uproar amongst TLP leaders and workers. Authorities arrested him in a pre-emptive attempt to maintain law and order, since TLP was expected to stage a protest soon if the govt didn’t honor some commitments it made in February.
Tell me more: These commitments include expelling the French ambassador and banning the import of goods from France. TLP lashed out at France after French President, Emmanuel Macron, made remarks that were considered “Islamophobic.” TLP also claims “blasphemous caricatures” were published in France. However, the govt didn’t say it would actually enforce TLP’s demands. The plan was to present their concerns in Parliament by April 20.
The context: Hard-line Islamic preacher, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, founded TLP in 2015. He died last year due to natural causes. TLP made headway during the 2018 election after emerging as the fifth-largest party in Pakistan, and the third largest party in Punjab. The senior Rizvi and his party were vocal supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, a security guard who shot and killed Punjab Governor, Salman Taseer, over blasphemy allegations. TLP is known to be a fierce defender of Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws. TLP even calls for violence against people who allegedly commit blasphemy against Islam.
The bottom line: The question is, will banning TLP automatically prevent them from organizing disruptive protests? How far will the ban go to impact their activities in the country? It’s still unclear what this ban will entail.
3. Two political parties quit the opposition alliance
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) quit the opposition alliance. The opposition alliance is also called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is president of the opposition alliance and leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) party, said the PDM can continue its work despite losing two parties. However, he still asked PPP and ANP to reconsider. PPP and ANP got upset after receiving “show-cause notices” from the PDM. Both parties got called out for side-stepping the alliance when elections for Opposition Leader in the Senate came up. PPP was pushing for its member, Yousaf Raza Gilani, to be nominated, even though other parties in the alliance didn’t 100% agree. PPP still powered through to get Gilani elected, and ANP helped. That’s when things became PPP and ANP vs the PDM (yea we know, too many acronyms).
- Backstory: Last year in September, a group of 11 political opposition parties came together to form an anti-govt alliance. The PDM demanded PM Khan’s resignation and a new election, claiming that a rigged election brought him and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party into power. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PPP, and JUI-F were the three largest political parties in the PDM.
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