Today’s top Pakistan current affairs December 02,2020 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
- 75 Succumbs To Coronavirus In A Day Across The Country. For the first time in the last four and half months that a large figure of 75 people succumbed to coronavirus in the country in a day across the country.
- Rs 4.96 Reduced On Power Tariff Of Industrial Consumers Across Country. National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has issued a notification for reducing power tariff for the industrial sector of Rs 4.96 paisas.
- ECC Okays Ends Regulatory Duty on Cotton Import. Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) today to discuss a 10-point agenda.
- ‘Pakistan to start free coronavirus vaccination in April 2021’. Pakistan will begin vaccinating people against the coronavirus from April 2021. The vaccine will be provided free of charge, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid said on Wednesday.
- Argentina Air Force considering to purchase Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder jets
- PIA Decides To Buy Eight New Airplanes. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday decided to purchase eight new airplanes.
- PIA reduces domestic fares by 30%. The Pakistan International Airlines has reduced its fares for domestic flights by 30%, a PIA spokesperson said Wednesday.
- Gold prices rise by Rs1,600 per tola in domestic market. The per tola gold price witnessed an increase of Rs1,600 to Rs110,700 in the domestic market on Wednesday
- Rupee weakens against US dollar in interbank market. After days of rally, the Pakistani rupee gave up some of the recent gains against the United States (US) dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 2,829 new cases and 75 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 35,197 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on December 2 at 7:35am).
- Pakistan hopes to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine by the first quarter of 2021. That’s not far off. The govt will reportedly take several factors into account before acquiring a vaccine, such as effectiveness, safety, side effects, storage requirements, cost, and production capacity.
- Once Pakistan gets the vaccine, it will be administered in stages. Frontline healthcare workers will be given priority. So far, the common public is falling under the “stage three” category.
- The federal cabinet approved the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) suggestion to set aside $150 million for a vaccine. The govt will reportedly fund the vaccine, meaning it will be free for the public.
2. Former Finance Minister’s “HARDtalk” on BBC
What’s going on? Stephen Sackur, host of BBC HARDtalk, noticed that his interview with former Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, is causing “quite a stir in Pakistan.” Sackur’s interview with Dar is the talk of the town right now, especially this two minute clip.
Wait, who is Dar again? He’s a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, and was a key lieutenant of former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif. PML-N recently joined an opposition alliance against PM Imran Khan and his ruling govt. PML-N is one of the largest political parties in the anti-government movement.
Something to know: In 2017, Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), accused Dar and his family of owning assets beyond known sources of income. Dar has been declared an absconder for not appearing in court to defend himself. Dar claims he’s in London for medical treatment, and has been there for three years.
The details: In the short clip making rounds, Sackur asked Dar how many properties him and his family own. Dar said “it’s all declared in my tax returns.” When Sackur kept pushing for an answer, Dar said “one property.” Then Sackur asked, ‘what about the Pakistani press reporting that you and your family own multiple properties?’ Dar said his sons own one villa in Dubai, but they’ve been in business for 17 years, they’re adults, and they’re independent, so that doesn’t count.
Tell me more: Some people in Pakistan’s Twittersphere think Dar bombed the interview. At the same time, Dar is retweeting the positive feedback he’s getting, like “Dar schooled Sackur,” or “Dar Sahib entered the wolf’s den and competed like a lion.” Dar insisted that some channels are running a two-three minute clip of the full interview, and taking what he said out of context. Dar posted the full interview on his Twitter page.
Both sides of the story: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt had a field day on Twitter. PTI’s official Twitter page wrote: “he outright lied about his properties.” PTI also said the interview “exposed” Dar and PML-N’s “fake narrative.” However, the beginning of the interview didn’t paint a pretty picture of PTI or PM Khan either. Sackur said: “…rising food prices and the Covid pandemic have left many Pakistanis feeling worse off…”
The bottom line: While PTI seems to think Dar’s interview was a win for them, Dar argued that NAB is used against political opponents, and repeated the opposition alliance’s primary allegation: “a rigged election brought PTI into power.”
3. Lahore High Court (LHC) sides with Pakistani activist
The LHC told the Punjab police to hold off on arresting Ammar Ali Jan. The court still has to review a petition challenging his 30-day “preventive detention” order (i.e. preventive detention is when someone is arrested before they can commit more offenses). The LHC reiterated that people can’t be arrested just because a case has been registered against them. That’s apparently not enough. Jan is an activist, and a professor who teaches at FC College. Last week, Jan attended a student protest in Lahore, and was almost arrested. The Lahore Deputy Commissioner accused Jan of being a threat to public safety, and issued orders to arrest him. However, Jan’s supporters claimed the protests were peaceful.
- Backstory: Last Friday, hundreds of activists and students from various educational institutions came together for a Student Solidarity March. They demanded free education, the restoration of student unions, committees against harassment on campuses, and proper internet facilities. They also spoke out against the current govt’s decision to cut the education budget.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,665.27 after rising 596.45 points (+1.45%) as of December 1, 2020.
[dkpdf-button]