Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 12, 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
- Country Is In Grip Of Third Wave Of Coronavirus: Dr Faisal Sultan. Prime Minister Special Assistant (SAPM) on health Dr Faisal Sultan has said that clearly new wave of coronavirus has arrived in the country.
- PM Imran inaugurates Al-Qadir University in Jhelum. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday inaugurated Al-Qadir University in Jhelum
- PM Told Power Sector Reforms Will Provide A Benefit of Rs. 700 Billion. Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting in Islamabad today to reduce the prices of electricity and discuss the revolving loans in the power sector.
- Sadiq Sanjrani Wins Senate Elections For Second Term. Sadiq Sanjrani has won the senate elections beating the joint opposition alliance PDM candidate Yosuf Raza Gillani.
- Govt-backed M Mirza Afridi Wins Deputy Chairman Post. Muhammad Mirza Afridi, ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been elected as Deputy Chairman senate.
- Universities Also Announce Their Decision On Spring Vacation. In wake of resurging cases after the second wave of Coronavirus, all universities in seven cities of Punjab have announced early spring break from 15 March to 28 March.
- Gold price dips in domestic market. The per tola gold price on Friday dipped by Rs2,300 to Rs104,300 in the domestic market
- Karachi To Host Remaining PSL Matches in June: PCB. Following an abrupt stoppage of 6th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after seven COVID-19 cases were reported, the 2021 season will resume once again in June with remainder fixtures to be played in Karachi.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 2,701 cases and 54 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 41,133 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 12 at 7:06am).
2. Disinformation campaign against Aurat March
What’s going on? A dangerous disinformation campaign against the 2021 Aurat March (i.e. women’s march) emerged on social media. According to a post on Aurat March Karachi’s official Twitter page, they are facing “heinous allegations” because of a doctored video. Some unidentified person or group edited the subtitles in a video of Aurat March participants chanting slogans, and replaced the original caption with content that is considered “blasphemous” or “anti-Islam.”
The details: Aurat March Karachi posted a video of participants chanting their original slogan to prove that another video circulating online has fake subtitles. The Express Tribune also confirmed that Aurat March footage with allegedly “blasphemous” subtitles is fake. Activist and lawyer, Jibran Nasir, gave a word-by-word breakdown of the edited subtitles to further prove how they are different from the slogan chants in the original video.
Tell me more: Aurat March Karachi accused two journalists of spreading “fake and heinous allegations.” Journalists Ovais Mangalwala and Ansar Abbasi commented on the Aurat March video that had fake subtitles, without confirming its authenticity. However, Aurat March gave a thumbs up to journalist, Shahzeb Khanzada, for reporting on the false allegations against the Aurat March.
- Mangalwala’s response: He is an Anchor/TV host at Hum News. He seemed apologetic when he learned the video was fake, and clarified that no one in the video was chanting blasphemous slogans.
- Abbasi’s response: He is an Editor at The News. He initially asked the govt to investigate this “very dangerous content about the women’s march,” arrest those who are responsible if it’s true, and ban the women’s march. After it was confirmed that the video had fake subtitles, Abbasi still said he’s against the Aurat March, and thinks it should be banned. However, he said if the content is fake, whoever was involved in writing and circulating that doctored content should be penalized.
Looking ahead: Digital rights activist Nighat Dad slammed Twitter for not doing enough to tackle misinformation, abuse, or online violence against Pakistani women. Science and Technology Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, said whoever edited the video committed a “grave offence,” and the Federal Investigation Agency should track down whoever is responsible.
The bottom line: Aurat March Karachi claimed that people who want to weaken the feminist movement and silence marginalized voices are spreading misinformation. Even unproven blasphemy accusations in Pakistan can trigger mob violence and extrajudicial killings. That’s why it’s alarming that some journalists with large platforms shared or commented on the doctored video without fact checking it.
3. Peshawar High Court orders ban on TikTok
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) told the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ban TikTok, the popular Chinese video-sharing app. The PHC ordered a ban due to “immoral and objectionable” content on the platform. PHC Chief Justice, Qaiser Rashid Khan, claimed TikTok videos are spreading vulgarity in society. The PTA confirmed it will comply with the court’s orders and tell service providers to immediately block access to the TikTok app.
- Deja Vu: The PTA already shutdown TikTok once last year in October after receiving complaints about “indecent” content on the platform. TikTok was back online around 10 days later after the company said it would moderate content in accordance with societal norms and laws in Pakistan.
- Backstory: As of last month, TikTok had around 33 million users in Pakistan. It’s reportedly one of the most popular apps in the country after WhatsApp and Facebook. Pakistani journalist and commentator, Najam Sethi, alleged that TikTok wasn’t banned over immoral content, but because TikTokers make fun of Pakistan’s “Great Leader,” (i.e. he was referring to PM Khan).
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