[Current Affairs] July 23, 2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for Online Test Preparation

2 – Estranged countries get in touch

What’s going on? Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Bangladesh’s PM, Sheikh Hasina, spoke on the phone. They talked about COVID-19, recent floods in Bangladesh, and the Kashmir dispute. PM Khan said Pakistan is committed to developing relations with Bangladesh, and also invited PM Hasina to visit Pakistan.

Who’s in the mood for a rapid-fire history lesson? Bangladesh was East Pakistan until 1971, when it said ‘good riddance’ and became independent. Bengalis were fed up with West Pakistan elitism, economic disparity between both territories, martial law, and a condescending attitude towards Bengali culture. Army Commander, General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan, was President at the time, and head of the martial law govt. The 1970 national election especially struck a nerve with Bengalis. The East Pakistan based Awami League Party and West Pakistan based Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were leading the election race, but the Awami League ended up winning. West Pakistan was reluctant to hand over power. This led to an uprising in East Pakistan, and towards the end, India jumped in to support the East Pakistani people and their forces.

The bottom line: This phone call is a big deal, because both countries have a troubled past, even after Bangladesh made its exit. It looks like Pakistan and Bangladesh are trying to improve diplomatic relations.

3 – Pressing pause on YouTube: 

Pakistan’s Supreme Court reportedly hinted that it might ban YouTube. The court has a problem with unregulated content on social media, especially comments about the judiciary, govt, and army. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin said they don’t object to freedom of expression, but the judiciary still has a right to privacy. He claimed that people scrutinize family members of the judiciary on YouTube. Justice Mushir Alam chimed in and said YouTube is banned in several countries. Justice Amin also claimed that local laws in many countries regulate social media. YouTube was already banned in Pakistan for three years. Pakistan’s digital space has a history of being restricted. Special Assistant to the PM on Digital Pakistan, Tania Aidrus, is worried about what a YouTube ban would mean for Pakistan’s content creators.

4 – Warning…this will make you sad: 

Police in Rawalpindi registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a man named Arsalan and his wife, Bisma. Arsalan allegedly beat his mother, Gulnaz Bibi. Arsalan’s step-sister/Gulnaz Bibi’s daughter, Zoobia Meer, caught the incident on video. Gulnaz Bibi claimed that her son and daughter-in-law fought with her every other day. She said they pushed her, beat her, and tortured her on Tuesday night. At the same time, Bisma claimed that Gulnaz Bibi had been “torturing” her for four years. Later on, Meer released another video in which she demanded justice and accused the police of not taking any action. Punjab Police tweeted that Arsalan was arrested and granted interim bail. Punjab Chief Minister, Usman Buzdar, took notice of the incident, asked for a report, and said the govt will make sure Arsalan is arrested.