Today’s top Pakistan current affairs March 19, 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
- Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Takes Charge As New PAF Chief. Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu took charge as the new Air Chief of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at an impressive change of command ceremony in Islamabad on Friday.
- Myanmar Security Forces Kill Nine Protesters. In Myanmar, security forces shot dead nine more protesters in the central town of Aungban as they tried to clear a barricade.
- Lahore jail authorities alarmed as 14 inmates test Covid positive. In what is seen as a worrisome affair, Covid-19 cases in two of Lahore prisons have seen a hike with at least 14 inmates contracting infection prompting Punjab Prisons Department to inform the provincial government,
- Rupee weakens against dollar in interbank. After gaining considerable ground in the previous days, the rupee on Friday weakened by 52 paisas against the dollar in the interbank
- Skardu airport to handle international flights. In order to promote tourism, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is upgrading the Skardu airport in Gilgit-Baltistan to handle international flights,
- Rains Predicted In All The Provinces Of The Country. Meteorological department has predicted rains with thunderstorm from Sunday to Tuesday in the country.
- WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook services restored after global outage. WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram services have been restored after witnessing a shutdown in Pakistan and other parts of the globe.
- Gold Price Increases Rs600 to Rs107,200 Per Tola. The price of 24 karat per tola gold increased by Rs600 on Friday and was traded at Rs107,200 against its sale at Rs106,600, Karachi Sarafa Association reported.
- Training Camp of Pakistan Cricket Team Will Start From Today. The team squad announced for tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe has reported to the training camp while after clearing of second coronavirus test the training camp will be started today.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 3,449 cases and 40 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 42,845 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on March 19 at 8:45am).
- The Prime Minister gets vaccinated: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, who is 68 years old, got his first COVID-19 vaccine shot on Thursday. The PM’s office released a video of him getting the vaccine shot on social media. Pakistan has been vaccinating frontline health workers and people over 60 with around 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, which China donated. So far, Pakistan has relied on donated vaccines. The country hasn’t secured any vaccines from manufacturing companies, even though it reportedly approved $150 million to buy COVID-19 vaccines last year.
- Russian Sputnik V vaccine arrives in Pakistan: Last month, Pakistan said private firms could import COVID-19 vaccines. At first, Pakistan was allowing uncapped prices for privately imported vaccines, but not anymore. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan will recommend a price cap for privately imported vaccines. The health minister made this announcement following a shipment of 50,000 privately imported Russian Sputnik V doses, which arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday night. This is reportedly the first shipment of the Sputnik vaccine. The Sputnik shots will be available to the public as soon as the govt agrees on a price.
2. A new approach to India
What’s going on? The Islamabad Security Dialogue is a two-day event hosted by the National Security Division in collaboration with govt-funded think tanks. The first edition of the dialogue took place this week. During a speech at the event, Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, reportedly said the Kashmir dispute will continue to cause problems between Pakistan and India unless there is a peaceful resolution. He also said it’s time for both countries to “bury the past and move forward.”
The details: Bajwa believes the region has so much potential if Pakistan and India can just resolve their issues. However, he threw the ball in India’s court to make meaningful dialogue easier. He also said India will have to create a “conducive environment,” especially in India-administered Kashmir.
The context: Pak-India relations have recently gone from generally tense, to extremely tense, to slightly better. Kashmir has been the root of most problems between Pakistan and India for 70+ years. Both countries claim Kashmir in full, but only control parts of it.
- February 2019: On February 14, 2019, a suicide bombing in India-Administered Kashmir killed 40 Indian soldiers. Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. India accused Pakistan of helping the bombers, but Pakistan said ‘not true.’ Later on, India launched airstrikes in Pakistan to target a militant training camp, Pakistan retaliated with its own airstrikes.
- August 2019: The govt of Indian PM, Narendra Modi, revoked Article 370, a constitutional provision that gave India-administered Kashmir some level of autonomy from the rest of India. India is reportedly trying to integrate the Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country. India’s move caused an uproar in Pakistan.
- February 2021: According to a joint statement by the militaries of both countries, top officials agreed to observe a truce along the highly militarized Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan and India frequently accused each other of violating a 2003 ceasefire agreement. This latest ceasefire is supposed to be a “renewed commitment.”
The bottom line: Bajwa said he hopes to see a peaceful and stable South Asia. However, he thinks India needs to play a big role in making that happen. His comments came a day after PM Khan said India would have to make the first move to normalize ties with Pakistan. PM Khan didn’t specify what this “first move” is supposed to look like.
3. Stabbing incident in Karachi housing society
There was reportedly a knife attack in Karachi’s Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Falcon Complex housing society. This housing society is known to be a heavily guarded neighborhood under PAF management. Disturbing video clips of the incident are making rounds online. This is still a developing story. There are a lot of unverified comments about the incident on social media. We honed in on reporting by The Express Tribune, Dawn News, and lawyer/activist Jibran Nasir to narrow down some key points.
- What happened? An assailant identified as Ibrahim Durrani allegedly stabbed fashion designer, Mohammad Moazzam Khan, and his two sons, Fahad and Ata. Durrani reportedly fled the scene. According to police, the incident took place on Tuesday night, even though it was reported on Thursday. The police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Durrani under Pakistan’s Penal code for “attempt to murder,” “endangering human life or personal safety,” and “criminal acts.” Social media users are demanding #JusticeforMoazzams.
- Tell me more: The quarrel started over a parking dispute. A video clip shows a man (most likely Khan) arguing with another man (most likely Durrani). In another video clip, the assailant can be seen charging at two people with a knife on his key chain. The last part of the video clip shows a person lying on the ground. A security guard can also be seen in the videos. Khan alleged that his neighbor, Durrani, attacked him with the intent to kill. Khan said he has a head injury, and his sons who came to help him are also injured.
