Today’s top Pakistan current affairs August 04,2020. 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 NTS, PPSC, CSS, FPSC, KPPSC, SPSC, BPSC, AJKPSC, OTS, PTS, and other Govt Jobs, exams & MDCAT, ECAT Entry test preparation.
One Liner
- Pakistan issues its new political map. In a major development, Pakistan on Tuesday issued its new political map incorporating occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
- Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project to start commercial operations from 25th October 2020.
- Families of PIA plane crash victims will now get Rs10mn each. Families of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash victims will now get Rs 10 million each instead of Rs 5 million.
- Pakistan considering reopening of tourist spots, wedding halls and restaurants.
- India’s Modi to lay Hindu temple foundations at site of Babri Masjid.
- India imposes curfew in parts of occupied Kashmir ahead of Article 370 revocation anniversary
- Pakistan face tricky tour of England.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 432 new cases and 15 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 11,026 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S this data was last updated on August 4 at 9:30am PKT).
- KP reported its lowest single day rise in cases since April 7.
2. Journalist’s death sparks protests
What’s going on? On July 23, two gunmen shot journalist, Anwar Jan, while he drove his motorbike home in Barkhan, a town in Balochistan. Thousands of people recently protested in his hometown to demand justice. The protests spread on the ground and online with the hashtag #JusticeforAnwarJan.
The details: Jan was known for exposing corruption. According to Reporters Without Borders (RWB), Jan was killed because he kept the public informed about allegedly corrupt practices by local officials. Jan’s family accused regional Food and Welfare Minister, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, of ordering the shooting after Jan reported on the local leader’s alleged involvement in political corruption. Jan’s family thinks Khetran’s bodyguards carried out the attack. In response, Khetran said he didn’t have anything to do with Jan’s killing, and denied the accusations against him.
Looking ahead: Police are still investigating. Jan’s family claimed that authorities aren’t doing much to help.
The bottom line: Pakistan is reportedly one of the worst countries in the world for journalists. In the Reporters Without Borders 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Pakistan ranked 145th out of 180 countries. At least seven journalists were reportedly killed in Pakistan last year. Balochistan is particularly dangerous, since local reporters often confront violence, and foreign journalists are harassed or barred from doing their jobs.
3. Pakistan’s new special assistant on health
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan appointed Dr. Faisal Sultan as his Special Assistant on National Health Services. Dr. Sultan will hold a federal minister status. He is also replacing Dr. Zafar Mirza who recently resigned due to negative comments about the role of special assistants, and criticism against the govt. Like Dr. Mirza, Dr. Sultan will take the lead on Pakistan’s COVID-19 response strategy. Dr. Sultan is a consultant physician on medicine and infectious diseases. He is also the Chief Executive Officer at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, (i.e. PM Khan’s charity hospital). As for Dr. Mirza, the govt recognized his national COVID-19 response efforts and thanked him.
4. Keep calm and mediate
That is what PM Khan is trying to do while mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran. In an interview with Al Jazeera, he said mediation efforts are progressing slowly. He also said Pakistan is doing its best to prevent a military confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. He believes Pakistan has played a key role in defusing tension between both countries.
- Backstory: The US asked PM Khan to facilitate talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran following attacks on a Saudi oil processing facility. The US blamed the attack on Iran. Long story short, Saudi Arabia and Iran are on bad terms, and they’re both sleeping with one eye open.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 39.871.61 after rising 613.17 points as of August 3, 2020.
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