Today’s top Pakistan current affairs December 11,2020 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
- Morocco becomes fourth Arab nation to normalise ties with Israel. Morocco on Thursday became the fourth Arab nation this year to normalize relations with Israel as President Donald Trump in turn fulfilled a decades-old goal of Morocco by backing its contested sovereignty in Western Sahara.
- Virgin Atlantic’s maiden Pakistan flight lands in Islamabad. British airline Virgin Atlantic’s maiden flight to Pakistan landed in Islamabad Friday morning.
- Sheikh Rasheed appointed interior minister, Ijaz Shah takes over narcotics. The PTI government reshuffled the federal cabinet on Friday and made Sheikh Rasheed the interior minister.
- COVID-19: Pakistan records 3,047 infections, 50 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan has recorded 50 deaths and 3,047 new cases due to the COVID-19 in the last 24 hours
- Pakistan makes coronavirus test mandatory at Pak-Afghan border crossing points. The COVID-19 test has been made mandatory for adult travellers coming into Pakistan through all crossing points at the Pak-Afghan border.
- Ertugrul’s Engin Altan wants to act in Pakistani dramas. Engin Altan, who played the lead role in Turkish TV show Diriliş: Ertuğrul, wants to act in Pakistani dramas.
- SBP extends Rs40,000 prize bond encashment deadline to Dec 2021. The State Bank of Pakistan has extended the deadline to encash Rs40,000 prize bonds by one year. You now have until December 31, 2021 to redeem these prize bonds.
- Gold prices edge lower in domestic market. The per tola gold price on Friday registered a decline of Rs100 in the domestic market
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 3,047 cases and 50 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 42,596 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on December 11 at 7:36am).
2. Tech giants demand changes to censorship laws
What’s going on? The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), which represents Google, Facebook, Twitter and other big tech firms in the region, wrote a letter to PM Imran Khan. They’re requesting “critical changes” to newly passed internet regulations in Pakistan.
The details: Apparently, a previous version of the internet regulations passed in February 2020, but PM Khan quickly took it back after technology companies and rights groups yelled ‘WTH is your problem?’ The govt passed and implemented a new version of internet regulations in November 2020, without any major changes to the original version.
Tell me more: Is the third time really a charm? Apparently not. On December 1, 2020, the govt revised the internet regulations AGAIN to remove a clause that banned any criticism of the federal and provincial govt, or any public office holders. Rights groups were up in arms about the clause being authoritarian. The AIC is still concerned, since industry stakeholders were not properly involved in the consultation process during all these revisions.
The context: The new regulations make it mandatory for social media companies, who have more than half a million users in Pakistan, to establish offices and data servers in the country. Tech companies also have to share decrypted user data (i.e. readable electronic info) with authorities without a warrant.
Looking ahead: The govt said it’s still open to continuing the conversation, without compromising content bans. Pakistan’s Information Technology Minister, Amin-ul-Haque, said Pakistan won’t tolerate hate speech, anti-state content or vulgarity.
The bottom line: Tech companies are not on board with the move to localize data, because they think Pakistani citizens won’t be able to access a free and open internet. As for sharing decrypted data, rights groups and tech companies claim this is a violation of standard human rights.
3. Main suspect will be tried for rape in child marriage case
Update on the case involving 13-year old Christian girl, Arzoo Raja. She was allegedly abducted, forced to convert to Islam, and married off to a 44-year-old Muslim man. The judicial magistrate’s court for Karachi’s South district recently ordered Raja’s purported husband, Syed Ali Azhar, to be tried for rape and child marriage. Azhar initially claimed Raja was 18, but that backfired after a medical board established she was either 13 or 14. The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act states the minimum age of marriage is 18. The magistrate ordered the registration of a case against the man who officiated the wedding, along with other facilitators and witnesses. The magistrate also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for absconding suspects.
- Backstory: This case has been going on since October of this year. During previous hearings in the Sindh High Court (SHC), Raja claimed she wasn’t kidnapped, and willingly married Azhar after converting to Islam. When the SHC asked Raja if she wanted to go with her parents or to a shelter home, she insisted on going with Azhar. However, the court noted that she was underage, and doesn’t have the free will to get married on her own. The SHC ordered police to temporarily place Raja in a shelter home.
4. British PM loops Pakistan into Indian farmers’ protest
What does Pakistan have to do with this? Apparently nothing. However, British PM Boris Johnson thought it was a cross-border issue involving Pakistan. A Sikh Member of Parliament asked PM Johnson if he agrees that everyone has the right to peacefully protest. He also asked whether PM Johnson will convey “heartfelt anxieties” and “hopes for a speedy resolution” to the Indian PM. In response, PM Johnson said, “…of course we have concerns about what is happening between India and Pakistan…but these are matters between those two govts to settle, and I know he appreciates this point.”
- Backstory: Tens of thousands of farmers in northern India have been protesting against PM Narendra Modi’s three new farm laws. Protesting farmers believe these laws will benefit big corporations, and hurt their livelihoods. Farmers have blocked several national highways and rail lines, and set up protest camps. The govt says these laws will deregulate the agriculture sector and allow farmers to sell their produce at a market price directly to companies. Farmers initially sold their produce at govt controlled wholesale markets with guaranteed prices. Now, farmers are worried about losing vital govt support (e.g. minimum price guarantees, govt loans, payments when natural disasters destroy crops).
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