Today’s top Pakistan current affairs February 09, 2021 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
- PM Imran to announce special package for Sindh next week: Governor. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Karachi next week where he will announce a special package for Sindh districts
- Search Operation For Ali Sadpara Delayed Owing To Bad Weather. The search operation for missing climbers including Pakistan renown Ali Sadpara and two other foreign climbers has been delayed due to harsh weather conditions on fourth day.
- Pakistan-Turkey Joint Military Exercise ATATURK-XI Starts. Pakistan-Turkey Joint Military Exercise ATATURK-XI Has Started.
- UAE’s Hope Probe enters Mars orbit in first Arab mission. The United Arab Emirates’ first mission to Mars reached the red planet and entered orbit on Tuesday after a seven-month, 494 million km journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate.
- Quaid-e-Azam House in Karachi to be turned into nation-building institute. The Sindh government has decided to transform the Quaid-e-Azam House in Karachi into a nation-building institute.
- K-Electric seeks Nepra approval to increase electricity price by Rs1.71. The K-Eletric has submitted an application to the National Power Regulatory Authority seeking to increase the per unit electricity price by Rs1.71.
- HEC Invites Proposals for CPEC Collaborative Research Grant 2021. Higher Education Commission (HEC) has invited research proposals from faculty members of higher education institutions for CPEC Collaborative Research Grant (CPEC-CRG) 2021.
- Pakistani Rupee Continues to Gain Against the US Dollar. The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continues to maintain its strength against the US Dollar in the international currency market, staying below Rs. 160 exchange rate and posting gradual improvements every day.
- Pakistan Moves Up On ICC Test Rankings. Pakistan cricket team regained its place among top 5 Test teams of the world with a 2-0 series win against South Africa.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,008 new cases and 40 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 31,509 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on February 9 at 8:16am).
- Vaccines for Pakistan’s armed forces: The People’s Liberation Army of China reportedly donated COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan’s army. However, the army said it wants to “put the nation first,” and won’t keep the vaccines. Instead, the army will hand its entire donation over to the nationwide vaccination campaign, which is prioritizing frontline healthcare workers. Pakistan’s vaccination drive started last week after China donated 500,000 doses to the country.
2. What you need to know about the Myanmar coup
What’s going on? Last week, there was a military coup in Myanmar following November’s general election. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party won against the military-backed party. The armed forces accused the NLD of election fraud, removed civilian rule, and declared a year-long state of emergency. Suu Kyi is under house arrest. President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were also arrested. Commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Min Aung Hlaing, is in charge now.
The details: Swarms of people in Myanmar are protesting against the coup and demanding Suu Kyi’s release. Hlaing tried to justify the military’s actions by repeating unproven allegations about election fraud (e.g. major irregularities with voter lists). The army started imposing restrictions in some areas, including curfews. Myanmar police used water cannons on peaceful protesters. The army blocked internet services over the weekend, but partially restored internet connectivity around Sunday afternoon – social media is reportedly still blocked.
Tell me more: There are many ethnic groups in Myanmar, including Rohingya Muslims. The Rohingya people in Myanmar reportedly faced mistreatment, violence and discrimination under Suu Kyi’s watch. Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingya people as citizens and labels them as illegal immigrants. In 2017, thousands of Rohingya people were killed, and more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh after an army crackdown. Suu Kyi denied allegations about the army committing genocide, and didn’t condemn the army’s actions either.
The context: Myanmar has a population of about 54 million. The predominant religion is Buddhism, and most people speak Burmese. The army ruled Myanmar from 1962 until 2011. In 1989, the ruling military changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar. Suu Kyi became famous after campaigning to restore democracy and civilian rule. She spent almost 15 years in detention after calling for democracy and free elections. She was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2015, Suu Kyi led her NLD party to victory in Myanmar’s first contested election in 25 years.
The bottom line: Hlaing said the army will hold new elections and transfer power to the winner. However, it’s unclear when these elections will take place. Pakistan’s foreign ministry commented on the coupin Myanmar. The ministry hopes both sides will “engage constructively, uphold the rule of law, and work towards a peaceful outcome.”
3. Lawyers riot at the Islamabad High Court (IHC)
On Monday, a group of lawyers barged into the IHC building to protest. The lawyers were upset because the Capitol Development Authority demolished their chambers. The lawyers broke windows and shouted slogans against IHC Chief Justice, Athar Minallah, while standing outside his chamber. Chief Justice Minallah was inside his chamber at the time, and pretty much trapped. Police and special security forces showed up later, after the lawyers already entered the Chief Justice’s block. Police, Rangers and counter-terrorism department officials were deployed to control the situation.
- Now what? The lawyers have a couple of demands, such as the rebuilding of their chambers, and the immediate release of arrested lawyers. IHC Justice, Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, told the lawyers (in other words), ‘you need to calm down, screaming at the Chief Justice and damaging his office won’t solve anything.’ Justice Kiyani asked the superintendent of police to release the arrested lawyers. He will also look into who exactly ordered the chambers to be torn down. Even though Justice Kiyani doesn’t agree with how the chambers were removed, he said they were “illegal” and shouldn’t have been built in front of the court.
4. A good day for Pakistan cricket
Pakistan’s cricket team beat South Africa in a Test cricket series, which took place in Rawalpindi. This is Pakistan’s first Test series win against South Africa since 2003! This win bumped Pakistan up to #5 in the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings, moving above South Africa. The #5 ranking is the Pakistan cricket team’s best standing since January 2017. Pakistan’s new Test captain, Babar Azam, is feeling good about the win, but also said “we have to further improve.”
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