Today’s top Pakistan current affairs February 23, 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 Khan Arrives in Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Colombo a short while ago where he was received by his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa at the airport.
- NEPRA Releases Power Breakdown Report. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has released inquiry report on major power breakdown in the country.
- Sadpara Nominated For Civil Award. Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) cabinet on Tuesday has nominated renowned mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who along with two other climbers lost his life in an attempt to summit K2 for a civil award.
- Three NBP Employees Arrested in Karachi. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday arrested four people, including three employees of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), in a Rs8.4 million fraud case.
- Nine out 22 energy projects under CPEC completed. The federal government has made major progress in the energy-related projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as nine out of a total of 22 power projects were completed
- Pakistan embassy in Saudi Arabia announces new passport fees. The Pakistan Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced new fees for issuance of a new or renewal of passport in Saudi Arabia.
- North Waziristan police issue security alert for NGO workers. The district police of North Waziristan has issued a security alert for NGO workers after four women aid workers were shot in the region’s Miran Shah on Monday.
- Pakistani IT Exports Cross $1 Billion Taking Clients From Indian Companies. Pakistan’s IT exports maintained a tremendous momentum in the current financial year, crossing a mark of $1 billion merely in seven months of the financial year 2020-21.
- Gold price goes up in domestic market. The per tola gold price on Tuesday registered a minimal increase of Rs50 to Rs110,750 in the domestic market
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,050 new cases and 41 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 33,978 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on February 23 at 7:27am).
- Pakistan Super League (PSL) player contracts COVID-19: One of the players participating in the PSL cricket tournament tested positive for COVID-19. This player has to remain in quarantine for 10 days and test negative twice in order to rejoin the game. Another player and an official have to be quarantined for three days after breaching COVID-19 protocols before the PSL start date. Six teams in Pakistan are competing in the sixth edition of the Twenty20 league, which is running from February 20 to March 22. This year, crowds at 20% capacity will be allowed to watch the match in person.
- Health official gets his first COVID-19 shot: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, said he received his first dose of China’s Sinopharm vaccine. He urged healthcare workers and others who are eligible to ignore misleading or false information about vaccines. He claimed that all the approved vaccines in Pakistan provide protection against serious disease.
2. Four women aid workers shot dead in Pakistan
What’s going on? On Monday, unidentified gunmen shot and killed four Pakistani women development workers while firing at their vehicle in North Waziristan. This was reportedly a targeted attack. A fifth woman aid worker survived. The male driver is injured and being treated at a hospital. The aid workers were affiliated with an NGO that provides vocational training to women.
The details: The assailants fled the scene. The motive behind the attack is unclear and no group immediately claimed responsibility. However, the Pakistani Taliban have a history of targeting aid workers. Senior police official, Shafiullah Gandapur, also brought up the ultra-conservative mentality of tribal culture, saying it’s considered unacceptable for women to roam around freely. North Waziristan was a former tribal region before integrating into the rest of Pakistan.
The context: North Waziristan was known to be a stronghold for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. The TTP wanted to establish their strict interpretation of Islam. In the process, the TTP cracked down on the freedom of women, and limited their movement. The TTP also banned most development activities by NGOs. In 2014, Pakistan’s army launched an anti-militant operation to push the TTP out of North Waziristan, and weaken the group’s activity in the region.
The bottom line: Even though there’s been a decrease in violence, the threat of militancy is still present in North Waziristan. Analysts and residents are worried that factions of the Pakistani Taliban are trying to regroup.
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