Today’s top Pakistan current affairs February 12, 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.
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
2. Landmark court ruling for mentally ill prisoners
What’s going on? Big news coming from Pakistan’s Supreme Court. It set aside the death sentences of two mentally ill prisoners who have spent several years on death row. The court said it’s not okay to impose a death penalty on prisoners who have a serious mental illness, especially if they aren’t able to understand the reason behind their punishment. The verdict also includes clauses on improving mental healthcare in prisons, and providing mental health awareness/ sensitivity training to prison and police authorities.
The details: One of the two prisoners, Kanizan Bibi, has spent 30 years on death row. In 1989 at the age of 16, Bibi was arrested and sentenced to death two years later in a murder case, a charge she denied. In 2000, Bibi was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 2001, the second prisoner, Imdad Ali, was convicted of murdering a religious scholar. In 2008, Ali was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He has spent 18 years on death row and is at least 55 years old.
Tell me more: The Supreme Court ordered prison officials to file a presidential pardon petition for Ghulam Abbas, specifically mentioning his mental health condition. Abbas is another prisoner who has schizophrenia. In 2006, he was convicted for murdering his neighbor, and has spent around 15 years on death row.
Looking ahead: Bibi’s and Ali’s death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment. Unlike Bibi and Ali, the Supreme Court didn’t reduce Abbas’ death sentence to life imprisonment. However, all three prisoners will be moved to a govt-run mental health facility.
The context: At least 33 crimes carry the death penalty in Pakistan, such as murder and gang rape. In 2019, Pakistan’s courts handed down more than 632 death sentences, which amounts to 27.3% of all death sentences around the world. What are we trying to say? Pakistan tends to dish out death penalties. Even though Amnesty welcomed the Supreme Court’s latest verdict, it’s still urging Pakistan to get rid of the death penalty.
The bottom line: This was reportedly a landmark decision by the Supreme Court when it comes to dealing with mentally ill prisoners. A death sentence won’t automatically be ruled out for prisoners with mental health issues. However, if a death row prisoner who has a mental illness files an appeal, the Supreme Court is willing to consider the severity of the prisoner’s mental illness. The court will let a medical board evaluate whether prisoners have the mental capability to understand why they received a death penalty.
3. Govt approves 25% salary increase for employees
Govt employees held protests outside various locations in Islamabad to complain about salary disparities and demand higher salaries. Police tear gassed govt employees and arrested protesters. After negotiating with protesting govt employees, the govt approved a 25% increase in the salaries of federal govt employees from grades 1 to 19 (i.e grades are a basic pay scale for govt employees). A govt committee also agreed to release all the arrested protestors. The federal govt will reportedly consult with provincial govts to address the concerns of provincial govt employees who also joined the protest. Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, who led the govt’s negotiation committee, apologized for how the police forcefully clashed with protestors, and said it shouldn’t have happened.
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