[Current Affairs] December 14,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for FPSC Test Preparation

2. Anti-govt rally’s latest stop: Minar-e-Pakistan

What’s going on? The opposition alliance, comprised of 11 political opposition parties, held an anti-govt rally at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore over the weekend. Their main demand: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has to go. Opposition parties claim to be protesting over increased inflation, a weak economy, stifled civil liberties, and media censorship. Tens of thousands of people showed up to the rally, despite rising COVID-19 cases in the country.

The details: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are some of the biggest opposition parties in the alliance. In previous rallies, PML-N Supremo and former PM, Nawaz Sharif, accused the army and intelligence officials of rigging the 2018 election that brought PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt into power. This time, Sharif addressed the protest via video and blamed PM Khan for the country’s problems. Sharif also repeated his accusations against the army.

Tell me more: Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, justified protesting in the middle of a pandemic by saying, “I value and care for your life, but it’s important to attend public meetings because COVID-18 (i.e. likely a reference to the 2018 election) is more dangerous than COVID-19.” PPP Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, accused “the establishment” of forming govts of their choice (i.e. “establishment” is usually a reference to the country’s military and intelligence services). JUI-F Chief, Fazlur Rehman, chimed in with accusations about the establishment’s election rigging in 2018.

Looking ahead: The govt thinks protestors are trying to distract the public from corruption allegations against opposition party leaders. PM Khan called the rally “pathetic.” He accused the opposition alliance of endangering people’s lives by bringing big crowds together during a pandemic. PTI leaders are also playing the ‘my rally was bigger than your rally’ game. According to PTI, PM Khan organized a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan a few years ago that was much bigger than the opposition alliance’s rally, even with their 11 parties combined.

The bottom line: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (i.e. opposition alliance) has been organizing rallies in different cities. These protests are leading up to a “march on Islamabad” in January. The govt is still not budging.

4. China helps Pakistan pick up the tab (again)

China helped Pakistan pay $2 billion in debt to Saudi Arabia. China contributed $1.5 billion to the total $2 billion. This debt repayment reportedly came from a bilateral Currency-Swap Agreement (CSA) between Pakistan and China. As of now, the CSA amounts to 10 billion Chinese Yuan (i.e. $4.5 billion). The $1.5 billion from China apparently won’t count as an extra loan, or debt on Pakistan’s part. Instead, the money is being taken out of the CSA. The State Bank of Pakistan and Finance Ministry didn’t deny or confirm this development. A state bank spokesperson merely said “it’s a bilateral confidential matter.”

• What exactly is a CSA? Pakistan and China signed a CSA in 2011 to strengthen bilateral trade and financial cooperation. As a part of the agreement, Pakistani importers can pay for Chinese goods in China’s currency. Another factor of the agreement was to reduce the need for US dollars in Pakistan. Pakistan has reportedly been using the CSA trade facility to repay foreign debt as well (i.e. in this story’s case, debt to Saudi Arabia).