Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 02, 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
- Indian plane makes emergency landing in Karachi after passenger dies mid-flight. An Indian airplane made an emergency landing at the Jinnah International Airport Karachi after, a man passed away while flying from Sharjah to Lucknow
- ECP to conduct Senate elections through secret ballot. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Tuesday that the Senate elections slated for March 3 will be held through secret ballot as per the “past practice”.
- Pakistan deplores missile attack in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan. Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned recent missile attacks by Houthi militia in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in particular a projectile that injured five civilians in a border village in Jazan region.
- Army chief says Pakistan committed to peace and stability. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Tuesday that Pakistan is committed to peace and stability in the region and playing its part by solidifying border security and capacity enhancement of Frontier Corps and Law Enforcement Agencies
- Pakistan will receive 10m vaccine doses from Covax by June. Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia will be among the biggest recipients of free Covid-19 vaccines before June — more than 10 million doses each — the Covax scheme announced Tuesday.
- Pakistan, China commence celebrations of 70-year long diplomatic ties. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and China Foreign Minister Wang Yi formally commenced their celebrations of 70-year long diplomatic ties on Tuesday.
- Qatar to Recruit 150,000 Pakistanis in The Coming Years. The Consul General (CG) of Qatar, Mishal M. Al Ansari, announced on Monday that Doha is planning to recruit over 150,000 Pakistanis over the next few years to increase their existing employment opportunities from 150,000 to over 300,000.
- Pakistan Customs Increases Taxes on Import of Used Computers and Laptops
- Dollar rate drops below Rs158 after one year. The dollar can now be bought for Rs157.95 in the open market as the greenback rate has dropped to a one-year low. The last time dollar was traded below Rs158 was on March 10 last year.
- Gold losing the uncertainty gloss in Pakistan. The gold price dropped by Rs1,050 in Pakistan on Tuesday, according to rates shared by the All Sindh Saraf Jewelers Association. A tola now costs Rs107,200.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,162 new cases and 42 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 31,948 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 2 at 7:33am).
- COVID-19 is not over yet: Health experts are worried about a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, since the govt has eased virus related restrictions. Health experts believe the govt should have lifted restrictions after making sure 70% of the population was vaccinated. Microbiologist, Dr. Javaid Usman, believes the govt was more focused on the country’s economic growth instead of public health. He is not ruling out the possibility of a “third wave,” especially with new variants of the virus that are reportedly more transmissible. COVID-19 cases in Islamabad have already started increasing.
2. Supreme Court rules in favor of secret ballots
What’s going on? According to the Supreme Court’s latest ruling, polling for the upcoming Senate election will remain ‘hush hush.’ Meaning, people can vote confidentially via a secret ballot. This verdict is not what the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt wanted to hear. The PTI govt was pushing for an open ballot system, a voting method in which people vote openly. However, opposition parties like Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were in favor of secret ballots.
The details: The Supreme Court pointed to the country’s constitution, which reportedly states that a secret ballot is required for all elections. According to the constitution, the election commission has to make sure there is no corruption in the election process. The Supreme Court also stressed that the election commission has a constitutional duty to ensure a fair and honest election.
Tell me more: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s PTI govt argued that secret ballots lead to corrupt practices (e.g. vote trading, also known as horse trading, which involves giving money or a bribe to get votes). PTI is convinced that legislators often buy and sell votes ahead of Senate polls.
The context: In 2018, PTI expelled 20 of its members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial assembly. They were found guilty of accepting PKR 50 million each to vote for certain candidates during the Senate elections.
Looking ahead: The election of 48 senators is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
The bottom line: PTI wanted open ballots to make sure legislators vote like they say they will, and stay loyal to their party. It looks like PTI is worried about a repeat of the 2018 Senate elections. For now, the secret ballot is here to stay.
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