Today’s top Pakistan current affairs January 15, 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
- Ravi project to provide residential facilities of an international standard: PM Imran. Lauding the Ravi Urban Development project, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that it will not only create investment opportunities but also provide residential facilities of international standard to the masses
- Petroleum industry records 6pc drop in local production. Pakistani oil industry reported on Thursday a six percent tumble in local oil production for the second quarter of year 2020-21
- Classes one to eight to resume from Feb 1, announces Shafqat Mahmood. Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood announced on Friday that classes one to eight will resume from Feb 1 instead of Jan 25.
- Govt Decides To Resume Education Activities Phase-wise. Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said the government has decided to restart the education process of class nine to twelve from Monday next as per the previous announcement.
- Pakistan’s petrol price increased by Rs3.20 per liter. The federal government has jacked up prices of petrol, diesel, and other products following the approval of Prime Minister Imran Khan
- Passengers offloaded from seized PIA plane to depart for Pakistan tonight. The Foreign Office said on Friday Pakistan’s High Commission in Malaysia is in close contact with the relevant Malaysian authorities and PIA to address the issue of seizure of the airline’s aircraft in Kuala Lumpur.
- Pakistan to launch its own WhatsApp-like app by June 2021. Pakistan has planned to launch its own WhatsApp-like messaging app, Smart Office, by June 2021 which will include all modern communication features besides announcing to expedite work on finalizing Personal Data Protection Bill
- Anti-smuggling drive: 609 petrol pumps sealed, 4.5m liters seized. As many as 609 petrol pumps were sealed and about 4.5 million liters of petrol and diesel seized during an ongoing countrywide crackdown against the sale of smuggled petroleum products.
- China, Russia, and Korea Interested in Revival of Pakistan Steel Mills. Chinese, Russian, and Korean investors are showing interest in the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).
- PIA Suspends China Flights Over New Coronavirus Cases. As part of precautionary measures, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has partially suspended flight operations to China over new coronavirus cases.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 2,417 cases and 45 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 40,359 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on January 15 at 7:46am).
2. Concerns about forced labor of Uighur Muslims
What’s going on? The US is banning imports of cotton and tomato products from China’s Xinjiang province. The import ban applies to raw fibers, apparel, and textiles made from Xinjiang-grown cotton, as well as canned tomatoes, sauces, and seeds. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it received “reasonable information” about these products being made with forced labor from detained Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. A CBP representative said the agency would not let the Chinese govt exploit slave labor to import goods into the US below fair market price.
The details: More than 1 million Uighur Muslims, and members of other Muslim minority groups, are reportedly being detained in what US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, calls “internment camps.” These facilities allegedly force Muslim detainees to work without payment in nearby factories (i.e. this means slave labor). However, the Chinese govt keeps denying allegations about forced labor in Xinjiang. Instead, Chinese authorities claim its camps are vocational training centers needed to combat extremism and deradicalize segments of the population.
Tell me more: According to media reports, a large number of Uighur Muslims are forced to pick cotton by hand. Cotton is Xinjiang’s largest export. In fact, 85% of the cotton produced in China comes from Xinjiang. Tomato products worth $10 million were imported from China into the US over the past year.
The bottom line: While several countries have spoken out against China’s treatment of Uighurs, Pakistan has been pretty quiet about alleged human rights abuses against Uighurs in China. It’s important to note that China has given Pakistan a lot of financial help in the form of loans and investment projects. At the same time, Prime Minister Imran Khan regularly condemns the oppression of Muslims and Islamophobia around the world.
3. Moody’s projected economic growth
The credit rating company reported that Pakistan’s economy will likely grow by 1.5% during the 2021 fiscal year. In other words, Moody’s expects economic activity to bounce back at a modest pace. According to Moody’s, Pakistani banks are looking stable at the moment, due to steady liquidity (i.e. readily available cash) and deposit-based funding (i.e. a high percentage of customer deposits). However, Moody’s thinks the banking sector is still facing some risks. Slow economic recovery could affect loan quality (i.e. the likelihood that a bank will be repaid the money it distributed). Also, interest rate cuts in 2020 could impact the banking sector’s profitability, since lower interest rates make borrowing money cheaper. Last year, the central bank cut interest rates by 625 basis points to try and boost economic activity during the pandemic.
4. Guess who wasn’t invited to Biden’s inauguration after all?
In a previous newsletter, we mentioned that PPP Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, was invited to the US President-elect’s inauguration ceremony on January 20th. Bhutto-Zardari’s dad, PPP Co-Chairman and former President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, supposedly got an invite as well. PPP Senator, Farhatullah Babar, denied rumors about the inauguration invites, which were making rounds on social media, and in several news reports. According to Babar, the father-son duo weren’t invited, and won’t be attending the inauguration.
- Backstory: Organizers of the 2021 US presidential inauguration are trying to keep the ceremony small, and limit the number of attendees. There are two reasons for this: COVID-19 safety guidelines, and security concerns following the pro-Trump riots at Capitol Hill last week. Biden’s inauguration committee is urging people in the US to virtually attend the inauguration, instead of gathering outside the Capitol building to watch Biden and his Vice President, Kamala Harris, recite their oaths. The inauguration committee is trying to avoid inviting a bulk of foreign leaders as well.
[dkpdf-button]