Today’s top Pakistan current affairs February 18, 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
- Bomb Attack Injures Muslim Minister In West Bengal. West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain sustained serious injuries after crude bombs were hurled at him in the Murshidabad district.
- Muhammad Ali Sadpara Declared Dead. Muhammad Ali Sadpara, two foreign climbers were officially declared dead on Thursday in a press conference attended by the families of the climbers in Skardu.
- Mushahid Ullah Khan Laid To Rest. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz senior leader and Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan laid to rest in Islamabad, .
- Pakistan urges India to allow UN observers, int’l media to visit occupied Kashmir. Pakistan on Thursday urged New Delhi to allow the observers of the United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OIC Independent permanent human rights commission and the international media to visit occupied Kashmir to assess the real situation in the valley
- Five doctors injured as gunmen open fire in Gujrat hospital. At least five doctors were injured in a clash inside District Headquarters Hospital in Gujrat on Thursday, the police and rescue officials said.
- Pakistan to receive 2.8m AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine doses by March 2. Pakistan will receive 2.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine close to March 2, PM’s aide on health Dr Faisal Sultan announced Thursday.
- Pakistanis can renew their passports for 10 years for Rs4,500. The federal government has decided to decrease the passport fee for the country residents.
- Gold rates move up in domestic market. The per tola gold price on Thursday witnessed an increase of Rs100 to Rs111,200 in the domestic market
- South Africa’s Du Plessis Retires from Tests. Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has announced his retirement from Tests to make Twenty20 International cricket his priority with successive World Cups in the next two years.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1.272 new cases and 52 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 36,543 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on February 18 at 8:15am).
2. Holding back technological progress
While speaking at an international media conference at Fatimah Jinnah Women University in Rawalpindi, Federal Minister of Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, claimed that previous court decisions and state policies “hindered” technological progress in Pakistan, and negatively impacted the country’s relationship with digital companies. Judging from various articles we reviewed, Chaudhry didn’t specify the court decisions he was referring to. However, he said these decisions took place in 2014. Chaudhry criticized the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) decision to temporarily ban TikTok last year. He encouraged women students to pursue studies in science and technology. He also proposed the idea of inviting technology companies to train students in local schools for skill building purposes.
- Backstory: Chaudhry reportedly has a history of speaking out against bans on social media websites and apps in the country, which tend to be enforced for moral reasons like ‘upholding societal values’ (e.g. the PTA banned TikTok due to numerous complaints about immoral/indecent videos). Overall, Chaudhry thinks technology is the future, and Pakistan should be prepared for the future.
3. Indian journalist acquitted in defamation case
Here’s some international news that Pakistanis are following. An Indian journalist named Priya Ramani made sexual harassment allegations against M.J. Akbar, a journalist-turned-politician. Akbar served as minister of state for external affairs in India. He is also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Akbar filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against Ramani in 2018, claiming her accusations ruined his reputation. Yesterday, a trial court in New Delhi acquitted Ramani, stating that Akbar couldn’t prove his case. According to the court, Ramani was trying to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The Judge also said “…right of reputation can’t be protected at the cost of right to dignity.”
- Backstory: Akbar resigned from his minister of state role after Ramani’s sexual harassment allegations became public. Once Ramani spoke out, 20 other women signed a letter making similar accusations against Akbar. Akbar denied all of the accusations. If found guilty, Ramani could have faced two years in prison, a fine, or both. Other women journalists see the court’s recent verdict as a victory for the #MeToo movement in India, where sexual harassment in the workplace is reportedly an ongoing problem. Ramani hopes the verdict will “discourage powerful men from filing false cases against women who share their truths.”
- Another throwback: Ramani’s article/open letter in Vogue titled “To the Harvey Weinsteins of the World.”
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