[Current Affairs] August 03,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for FPSC Test Prep

What’s going on? Right-wing Islamists came together in Peshawar to support a man who shot a U.S. citizen on trial for blasphemy. Demonstrators praised the assailant for defending his religion, and called for his immediate release from jail.

The details: Tahir Naseem was accused of blasphemy after claiming to be a prophet. Faisal Khan shot him in a Peshawar courtroom during his trial hearing. Khan claimed he saw Prophet Muhammad in a dream the night before. It’s unclear how Khan managed to enter the courtroom and get past security with a weapon. Naseem died before he could be taken to a hospital, and Khan was taken into custody. According to the U.S. State Department, Naseem initially lived in Illinois and was an American citizen. Naseem was reportedly in touch with a student at an Islamic school in Pakistan via Facebook and told him he was a messiah sent by God. Later on, Naseem met the student in Peshawar, and was arrested afterwards.

The bottom line: Even though Pakistani authorities haven’t formally executed anyone under the country’s blasphemy laws, several accused people are on death row. In Pakistan, any attempt to even amend the blasphemy law triggers severe backlash. Also, a mere allegation of blasphemy can be life threatening since mobs and vigilantes lash out against whoever is accused.

3. The content banning merry-go-round

First, Pakistan’s Telecom Authority (PTA) banned online game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), after receiving complaints about the game being too addictive, a waste of time, and harmful to the physical and psychological health of children. Then, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) told PTA to lift the ban on PUBG, but the PTA said ‘nope.’ However, on July 30, the PTA suddenly tweeted that it’s unbanning the game following positive engagement with PUBG. PUBG representatives reportedly welcomed PTA’s feedback regarding control mechanisms for the gaming platform. In related news, PTA also unbanned Bigo after the live-streaming platform’s management made a commitment to moderate immoral and indecent content.