[Current Affairs] August 07,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

• Pakistan reported 727 new cases and 21 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 15,001 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on August 6, at 9:39am).
• Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, said the govt will lift lockdown restrictions in the hospitality and recreational sectors due to the declining number of COVID-19 cases. This means restaurants, cafes, parks, cinemas, theaters, business centers, expo centers and beauty parlors will officially reopen on Monday, August 10. Marriage halls are reopening on September 15. Educational institutions are also scheduled to reopen on September 15.
• Umar is urging the public to be careful, since COVID-19 in Pakistan is an evolving situation and the positive trend could change quickly if people are negligent.

2. The case of the illegal liquor license

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned Punjab CM, Usman Buzdar, for allegedly issuing illegal liquor licenses. NAB accused Buzdar of illegally using his authority to issue liquor permits to a private hotel in Lahore. According to NAB, only the DG Excise has the jurisdiction to issue liquor licenses. Buzdar has to appear before the bureau on August 12.

What’s going on? The Supreme Court (SC) is far from pleased with a police report regarding the abduction of senior journalist, Matiullah Jan.

The details: Jan is known to be an outspoken journalist and critic of the military. He also covers legal affairs. On July 21, around a dozen unidentified men, reportedly in plainclothes and uniform, abducted Jan from outside a school in Islamabad and released him after 12 hours. A CCTV camera caught footage of the kidnapping, which sparked outrage on social media after going viral. The capital police said they were waiting to hear back from different departments. According to the police report, the culprits involved in the kidnapping incident are still being tracked down, and updates from other departments are needed for the investigation.

More context: Before his abduction, Jan criticized a recent SC verdict regarding Justice Qazi Isa, one of the court’s top judges who was accused of misconduct for failing to declare his family’s properties in the UK. The SC issued a contempt of court notice to Jan for allegedly tweeting a derogatory comment about the court and its judges.

And a litttttle more context if you have a second…

• The allegation: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt suspected that Justice Isa purchased the UK properties, but listed them under the name of another family member.
• The verdict: Even though the SC rejected the reference against Justice Isa, seven out of 10 judges ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to review the source of funds for the properties.
• The tweet: In his controversial tweet, Jan stood up for Justice Isa, and suggested that seven judges “backstabbed” a fellow “brother” judge.

The bottom line: Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed wanted answers in the police report, and asked ‘what’s the hold up?’ He wants police to pick up the pace.