Today’s top Pakistan current affairs April 22, 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 Condemns Quetta Blast, Seeks Report. Prime Minister Imran Khan has strongly denounced the Quetta blast.
- PM Khan convenes NCOC meeting Friday to discuss possible lockdown. Prime Minister Imran Khan has convened on Friday a meeting of the National Command and Operation Center to discuss the imposition of a lockdown in the country.
- Punjab students to go on summer break in July. Summer vacations for students across Punjab will begin on July 1.
- Pakistan receives 0.5m Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine doses from China. Pakistan on Thursday received another shipment of 500,000 doses of a Sinovac coronavirus vaccine from China
- Pakistan to offer loans worth Rs5b to filmmakers. Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has made some big announcements for aspiring filmmakers in Pakistan.
- First women security guards deployed at Masjid-al-Haram. The Saudi Interior Ministry published photos on Monday showing women security guards on duty at Masjid-al-Haram.
- Gold rates move up in domestic market. Gold prices witnessed an upward trend as the per tola price of the precious metal on Thursday witnessed an increase of Rs400 to Rs104,300 in the domestic market
- Rupee weakens against US dollar. The Pakistani rupee depreciated 22 paisas against the United States (US) dollar in the interbank currency market on Thursday.
- 11 Members of Pakistan Cricket Team Reach Zimbabwe. Eleven members of Pakistan Test have joined squad in Harare.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 5,499 new cases and 148 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 47,301 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on April 21 at 8:20am).
- Shutting down major cities is a possibility: Planning and Development Minister, Asad Umar, warned that the COVID-19 situation in Pakistan has become “extremely serious.” He said major cities may have to shut down if the virus keeps spreading, and hospitals keep filling up. According to Umar, there are some cities in the country where 80% of the ventilators are being used. He urged people to take care of themselves and their fellow Pakistanis.
2. Bomb blast at the Serena Hotel in Quetta
What’s going on? On Wednesday night at 10:15 pm, there was a bomb blast at the Serena Hotel in Quetta. This venue is known to be a luxury hotel. Govt officials and visiting dignitaries usually stay here. The blast came from a car full of explosives, and ripped through the hotel’s parking area. At least four people were killed, and 12 wounded. A couple of people are in critical condition.
Who did it? Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
Something to know: China’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, was staying at the Serena Hotel, along with other Chinese officials. Ambassador Rong was attending a function, and not at the hotel when the blast took place.
The context: Quetta is the capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. While addressing a press conference after the blast incident, Balochistan’s Home Minister, Mir Ziaullah Langove, said there’s been “a wave of terrorism in the region.” A week ago, 12 people were injured in an explosion during a football tournament in Balochistan. The deep-sea Gwadar Port in Balochistan is also a key piece of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that connect China to the Gwadar Port in Pakistan. China has invested a whopping $60 billion in CPEC.
The bottom line: The motive behind this attack, and the target of the attack are still unclear. However, Taliban militants apparently have a history of attacking Chinese nationals and interests in the region.
3. A shortfall in cotton production
Fun fact – Pakistan is reportedly one of the world’s largest cotton producers. Not so fun fact – Pakistan is running into issues with domestic cotton production due to things like bad weather and pest outbreaks. As a result, Pakistan is spending billions of dollars to import cotton. These cotton imports are meant to support Pakistan’s textile industry. Has the govt taken any steps to revive cotton production? According to Chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, Jassu Mal, the short answer is ‘not really.’ If cotton production continues to slow down, it could set off a negative chain reaction:
- Cost: Decreases in local cotton production could lead to higher cotton prices.
- Livelihood: Around 1.5 million farmers depend on cotton crops for a living.
- Employment: Cotton production provides raw material for the textile industry. In turn, the textile industry provides employment to 40% of Pakistan’s workforce. If more cotton ginners have to close up shop, a lot of people could lose their jobs (P.S. ginners operate cotton gin machines). In the past three years, hundreds of thousands of farmers and textile workers have lost their jobs due to ginners shutting down their factories.
