Today’s top Pakistan current affairs December 04,2020 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
- Former judge Arshad Malik dies of coronavirus. Former accountability court judge Arshad Malik passed away Friday afternoon.
- PM proposes 10 ways to UNGA to save poor countries. Prime Minister Imran Khan proposed to the United Nations General Assembly a 10-point agenda to save poor countries from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Major Pakistan cities to have separate, province-like governments: PM Khan. Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that citizens through their complaints and suggestions on the government’s citizen portal have made it clear that they want powerful local governments in major cities.
- Noam Chomsky to speak at Habib University on Dec 7. World-famous philosopher, social critic, and political activist Noam Chomsky will be speaking at Habib University in Karachi for its 6th Yohsin Lecture series on December 7.
- UAE launches tourist visas for Israelis. The United Arab Emirates launched tourist visas for Israeli citizens on Thursday, official media said, in the latest move following the normalisation of ties between the two countries.
- Europe will not authorise PIA operations until ‘safety measures increased’. The European Union Air Safety Agency has refused to authorise PIA’s operations in Europe until it increases safety measures on its planes.
- Last solar eclipse of 2020 to be observed on Dec 14. The last solar eclipse of 2020 would be observed globally on 14 December, the second time in a year
- New Zealand’s health ministry refuses to allow Pakistan team training. New Zealand’s health ministry has refrained touring Pakistan squad from starting its preparations for their upcoming fixtures in wake of the active coronavirus cases.
- Five Pakistan players nominated in ICC teams of the decade. The International Cricket Council (ICC) have shortlisted five Pakistan cricketers for its men and women’s ODI XI teams of the decade.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 3,262 cases and 55 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 44,627 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on December 4).
2. A wave of terror financing charges
What’s going on? An anti-terrorism court in Lahore convicted three Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leaders on charges of terrorism financing. JuD is a humanitarian relief and religious organization that operates across the country. Pakistan’s govt and the UN designated JuD as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group.
The details: The three charged leaders are Deputy Chief of JuD, Abdul Rehman Makki, Head of Fundraising, Zafar Iqbal, and Media Chief, Yahya Mujahid. Iqbal and Mujahid got a 15 and a half year prison sentence, while Makki was sentenced to six months in prison.
Tell me more: In 2008, around 10 Pakistani men associated with LeT allegedly attacked buildings in Mumbai, killing 164 people. JUD’s Deputy Chief, Makki, is wanted in the United States for his suspected ties to the attack. JuD’s Head of Fundraising, Iqbal, co-founded LeT with Hafiz Saeed in 1980. Saeed was also convicted for financing terrorism, and is serving an 11-year prison sentence in Pakistan.
The context: Are you wondering why Pakistan is ramping up its crackdown on armed groups? Pakistan has something to prove to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan ended up on the global watchdog’s grey list (i.e. watch list) in June 2018 for failing to take appropriate action against money laundering and terrorist financing. Now, Pakistan is actively trying to avoid the FATF black list, which is bad news for a country that wants to protect its global reputation, and receive financial assistance from international organizations. Countries downgraded to the black list are considered ‘high risk’ jurisdictions.
The bottom line: Pakistan is working through a 27-point action plan to actively combat money laundering and terror financing. So far, Pakistan has met 21 of the 27 criteria laid out by the FATF. In order to avoid serious financial and diplomatic consequences, Pakistan has to show the FATF it really means business.
3. Two incoming high court judges
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the nominations of Babar Sattar and Tariq Jahangiri as additional judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). IHC Chief Justice, Athar Minallah, recommended the two lawyers. A Parliamentary Committee on the Appointment of Judges still has to approve the nominations.
- Sattar: There’s a lot of buzz about his nomination. He is known to be a bold and vocal lawyer. He helped Justice Qazi Faez Isa challenge a presidential reference. Reminder: President Arif Alvi filed a reference against Justice Isa before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The reference accused Justice Isa of misconduct for failing to disclose his family’s overseas properties. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt wanted to make sure the property purchases didn’t involve financial fraud. Justice Isa claimed the govt is trying to silence judges. The Supreme Court eventually overturned the presidential reference.
- Jahangiri: Heserved as president of the IHC Bar Association in 2016. He was also the Advocate General of Islamabad, the Deputy Attorney General for Pakistan, and a Deputy Prosecutor General at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
4. PM Khan’s royal phone call
If you’ve started watching Season 4 of The Crown on Netflix, Prince Charles (i.e. the Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne) might be one of your least favorite people right now.PM Khan hopped on a call with the British royal. They talked about bilateral relations, strengthening ties, and working together to tackle global issues (i.e. climate change, COVID-19). Prince Charles and PM Khan also expressed their condolences about the lives lost in each other’s countries due to COVID-19. Prince Charles tested positive for the virus in March, but had mild symptoms. He turned 72 last month. PM Khan invited Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, to visit Pakistan.
5. UNGA adopts resolution to respect religious symbols
The UNGA just adopted a Pakistan-Philippines sponsored resolution on inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue. The resolution emphasizes the importance of respecting sacred religious symbols. The European Union, some other western countries, and India opposed the resolution, but it still came through. Countries that argued against the resolution were worried about freedom of speech limitations. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, repeated PM Khan’s calls to challenge Islamophobia and promote respect for religious sensitivities. Ambassador Akram stated that deliberate insults against Islam, which is one of the largest religions in the world, only causes problems.
- Backstory: The resolution follows weeks of protests against France. Muslims around the world were outraged after French President, Emmanuel Macron, defended the right to publish controversial cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He said France would not “give up” the caricatures during a memorial service for history teacher, Samuel Paty. Paty was beheaded in a Paris suburb on October 16 after showing the same caricatures to his students during a discussion about the limits of free speech.
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