Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 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
- NCOC Advises Provincial Administrations To Take Actions On Violations Of SOPs. National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has advised the provincial administrations to take strict actions on violations of COVID-19 related SOPs.
- Dozens of Youth Injured in Firing by Indian Troops in Occupied Kashmir. In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), dozens of youth were injured, many critically, in firing of bullets and pellets on protesters by Indian troops in Shopian district.
- Petrol Prices To Remain Unchanged For Next 15 Days. Federal government has decided against raising the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel in the country, rejecting a summary forwarded by the Ogra.
- CM Buzdar announces Rs7bn Ramazan package. In a bid to provide relief to the common man during the holy month of Ramazan, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday announced Rs7 billion “Ramazan Package,”
- Rangers personnel martyred, five injured in Karachi attack. A Rangers personnel was martyred and five other people were injured as a result of a blast reported near the city’s Orangi Town area on Monday
- Pakistan ranks amongst top 10 countries to import arms, SIPRI report says. As International transfers of major arms saw a decline due to major drop in Russian and Chinese exports, substantial increases by the USA, France and Germany, three of the five top arms exporters, did little to balance it out, said Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report Monday.
- PIA to operate direct flights to Turkey. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to resume direct flights to Turkey.
- ‘Education centres will not be closed during smart lockdown in Sindh’. Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani announced on Monday that educational institutions will not be closed during the smart lockdown across the province.
- Gold Prices Increases By Rs150. The price of 24 karat per tola gold increased by Rs 150 on Monday and was sold at Rs107,150 against its sale at Rs107,000, Karachi Sarafa Association reported.
- Asia Cup Will Not Be Held This Year: Chairman PCB. Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ahsan Mani has said that it is impossible to organize Asia Cup this year.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 2,253 new cases and 29 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 44,061 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 15 at 7:30am).
- Pakistan goes into lockdown mode: Health authorities are imposing a partial lockdown in some areas due to a surge of new COVID-19 infections. Punjab authorities fined a bunch of marriage halls and restaurants for violating restrictions that were imposed again to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Officials in Islamabad told people they have to wear face masks and maintain social distancing in public.
- More specific restrictions in Punjab: The Punjab govt imposed a major lockdown in seven cities for two weeks, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, and Gujrat. In these cities, there will be a complete ban on all kinds of public and private gatherings (e.g. social and religious). Marriage halls, banquet halls, community centers and marquees will be closed. There will be a complete ban on indoor gatherings. Outdoor gatherings must have a limit of 50 people. Indoor and outdoor dining are banned. The lockdown is supposed to start today (Monday).
2. Do I spy a camera in the voting booth?
What’s going on? The govt-backed candidate for Senate Chairman, Sadiq Sanjrani, defeated the opposition alliance’s candidate, Yousaf Raza Gillani. Sanjrani got 48 votes while Gillani got 42. Sanjrani is a member of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), which is a part of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s ruling alliance in the Senate. He will now serve another term as Senate Chairman. Gillani is a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). PTI-backed Senator, Mirza Mohammad Afridi, was also elected Deputy Chairman.
The details: Opposition members challenged the result after Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah, who supervised the vote, rejected seven ballots in favor of Gillani. According to Shah, the ballots were stamped incorrectly (i.e. the stamp was on the candidate’s name, instead of the designated box). Another vote was rejected because both candidates were marked on the ballot, bringing the total number of rejected votes to eight.
Tell me more: PPP Senator, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, tweeted that he found a “spy camera” over the main voting booth. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator, Dr. Musadik Malik also said he found a “secret/hidden camera” in the Senate voting booth. Science and Technology Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, responded to Khokhar’s tweet and said the camera looks more like a CCTV cable, which is for regular building security.
Something to know: Elections for the Senate and Senate office holders are conducted through a secret ballot system. The votes are supposed to be confidential. The alleged spy cameras suggest that someone is trying to take a peek at the secret ballots.
The context: The election for Senate Chairman took place after the main Senate election, which was on March 3. Gillani was the opposition alliance’s joint candidate for the Senate seat from Islamabad. He defeated the govt-backed PTI candidate, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. PM Khan accused the opposition of bribing PTI lawmakers to vote for Gillani. The opposition denied PTI’s allegation. Even though PTI is the largest party in the Senate, the opposition alliance still has a slight majority.
Looking ahead: Senator Khokhar and Senator Malik requested the formation of a Senate committee to investigate the alleged spy cameras. They also said the cameras were “a great blow to democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitution.”
The bottom line: After feeling sore about losing the Senate seat from Islamabad, PM Khan and his PTI party have something to celebrate after their preferred candidates won the Senate Chairman and Deputy Chairman election. At the same time, PTI and the opposition alliance are accusing each other of installing spy cameras in the voting booth.
3. Pakistani Taliban threaten the Aurat March
The Pakistani Taliban appear to be threatening Aurat March (i.e. women’s march) participants. They issued a statement that addressed the marchers: “We want to send a message to those organizations who are actively spreading obscenity and vulgarity in our beloved Pakistan…Fix your ways, there are still many young Muslims here who know how to protect Islam and the boundaries set by Allah.”
- Backstory: This statement came after fake images and video clips about the 2021 Aurat March circulated online. The edited images and videos made it look like Aurat March participants were insulting Islam during their demonstration, when that was not the case. Aurat March organizers claimed the doctored images and videos are part of a campaign to stop women from demanding their rights.
- Now what? Hassan Abbas, a security expert at the National Defense University in Washington D.C. said the Taliban’s statement should be “a wake-up call” for Pakistan’s security agencies.
