Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 18, 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
- Naya Pakistan scheme: Pakistan allots houses to 1,500 labourers, widows. Prime Minister Imran Khan took out the names of 10 labourers and widows in a lucky draw and they will now be able to afford and own their own houses.
- Pakistan Ready To Resolve Disputes With Neighbors Through Dialogue: COAS. Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said Pakistan is ready to resolve all outstanding disputes with its neighbors through dialogue in a dignified and peaceful manner.
- Alarming Cases Of Coronavirus Reported Across The Country. The cases of coroanvirus have increased to dangerous limits as 3, 4956 cases reported in the last 24 hours while 61 people were died while the confirmed cases of coronavirus have jumped to 6, 15, 810.
- Punjab’s Hospitals Reach Near-Full Capacities With COVID-19 Patients. The capacities of government hospitals in major cities of Punjab are nearly saturated with coronavirus patients as the third wave of the pandemic has taken a dangerous turn.
- PM Imran Vaccinated Against COVID. Prime Minister Imran Khan got anti-Covid vaccine shots in Islamabad today (Thursday).
- Pakistan decries terrorist attacks in Niger. Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned terrorist attacks in Tillaberi region of Republic of Niger that resulted in the loss of so many precious lives.
- Motorway police issues first challan over traffic violation via drone technology. The National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) on Wednesday officially launched drone technology to conduct road patrolling and monitor traffic violations at highways and motorways.
- KP Govt To Build Hydro-Electric “Mining Farms” For Cryptocurrencies. As accorded under the newly formed Crypto Advisory Committee, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is now planning to set up two hydroelectric-powered “mining farms” to exploit the global cryptocurrency market.
- Rupee continues to strengthen against US dollar. The Pakistan rupee strengthened by 29 paisa against the United States (US) dollar in the inter-bank currency market on Thursday.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 3,495 new cases and 61 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 44,377 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 18 at 7:50am).
- Pakistan gets more vaccines from China: Last month, China donated 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine to Pakistan. Yesterday, Pakistan received a second round of 500,000 doses from China, which are also donations. After China’s donations, Pakistan has a total of 1 million shots. Sinopharm is currently the only vaccine available in the country, and requires two shots. Pakistan is supposed to receive 14.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through the global COVAX initiative in two phases. The first shipment is scheduled to arrive this month. The COVAX initiative supplies COVID-19 vaccines to lower income countries. So far, Pakistan has been relying on free COVID-19 vaccines.
2. Rumors about another federal cabinet re-shuffle
What’s going on? Word on the street is that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is about to make some changes to the federal cabinet. If PM Khan is actually changing the cabinet around, this will be the fifth time since his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) govt came into power in 2018. The last cabinet re-shuffle took place in December 2020, so not long ago.
The details: PM Khan is reportedly planning to change some portfolios, though we aren’t sure which ones. It’s unclear if he’s going to switch things up, promote, or downgrade certain cabinet members. His decision will be based on how people have been performing in their current role. Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari, confirmed that some newly elected Senators will join PM Khan’s federal cabinet, but she didn’t specify who.
Tell me more: According to ARY News, PM Khan is not happy with the performance of several key ministers. The Express Tribune cited unnamed sources from within PTI, who claimed that PM Khan is tired of delayed projects and never ending excuses. The Express Tribune also quoted an anonymous federal minister, who said it’s getting harder to put a positive spin on “lackluster performance.”
The bottom line: PM Khan reportedly thinks it’s time to deliver, but some people aren’t delivering. He wants top ministers to actually perform, deliver on major promises, and show the country they are performing at a high level.
3. Bilawal Bhutto supports the Aurat March
In a meeting with the Aurat March (i.e. women’s march) Karachi chapter, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto, said he regrets how blasphemy laws are being “misused” to target the Aurat March. An online video is spreading dangerous misinformation about the recent Aurat March, which took place on International Women’s Day. Bhutto expressed his support for the Aurat March movement, and listened to their security concerns.
- Backstory: 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.” Aurat March Karachi posted a video of participants chanting their original slogan to prove that another video circulating online has fake subtitles. Aurat March Karachi claimed that people who want to weaken the feminist movement and silence marginalized voices are spreading misinformation.
4. Human Rights Ministry stands up for expelled students
The Ministry of Human Rights is getting involved in the recent expulsion of two students from the University of Lahore. The students were expelled for alleged misconduct and breaking the university’s rules. FYI, a girl proposed to a boy and they hugged in public. The ministry’s Parliamentary Secretary, Lal Chand Malhi, sent a letter to the University of Lahore’s Vice Chancellor. To sum up the letter, Malhi accused the university’s administration of “overreacting,” “moral policing,” and “violating the students’ basic human rights.” He believes there’s no legitimate reason for the university to wreck their education and future career opportunities. He urged the university to re-admit the students.
- Backstory: A girl student at the university got down on her knee and proposed to a boy student. In a video that went viral on social media last week, the couple can be seen hugging and holding flowers. People standing around them can be heard clapping and cheering. Later on, the couple got a notice from the university, saying they were expelled and barred from entering campus.
