Today’s top Pakistan current affairs November 18,2020 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
- PM Imran To Visit Afghanistan Tomorrow. Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Kabul on Thursday on the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
- Circular Railway To Resume Operation From Tomorrow. Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Wednesday the Karachi Circular Railway will resume operation from Thursday (tomorrow).
- Pakistan education ministry proposes shutting down schools from Nov 24. The Ministry of Education has proposed to shut down educational institutions from November 24 to January 31 amid a second wave of coronavirus infections in Pakistan.
- Child rapist, pornographer handed triple death sentence by Rawalpindi court. A man convicted of raping children, filming them and distributing those videos on the dark web was sentenced to death thrice on Wednesday by a Rawalpindi sessions court.
- Final results show Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has 95% success rate. Final results from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial showed its shot had a 95% success rate and two months of safety data, paving the way for the drugmaker to apply for an emergency U.S. authorization within days, it said on Wednesday.
- Gold prices edge up in local market. The per tola gold price witnessed an increase of Rs200 to Rs112,700 in the domestic market on Wednesday
- England To Visit Pakistan Next Year After 16 Years. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Wednesday that England will visit Pakistan for a short tour next year.
- Pakistan to tour England in 2021 for ODI, T20I series. Pakistan cricket team will travel to England for three-match ODI and as many T20Is in the summer of 2021.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 2,208 new cases and 37 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 38,544 in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on November 18 at 7:23am).
- It’s unclear how much a COVID-19 vaccine will actually cost, but Pakistan plans to set aside $100 million to pay for the vaccine. Also, once there is a vaccine, senior citizens, health workers, and people with chronic diseases, will take priority.
2. Pakistan reportedly under pressure to recognize Israel
What’s going on? According to this report, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said the United States (U.S.) is ramping up pressure on Pakistan to normalize ties with Israel. The report quoted PM Khan saying that pressure was “extraordinary” during U.S President Donald Trump’s term. According to the report, PM Khan also insisted that Pakistan won’t budge unless there’s a fair settlement that “satisfies Palestine.”
The details: Pakistan’s Foreign Office rejected the report, which quoted PM Khan saying the U.S. is putting pressure on Pakistan to recognise Israel. A foreign office spokesperson reiterated PM Khan’s stance on Israel, and said Pakistan supports a two-state solution regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “…with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of Palestine” (i.e. Al-Quds Al-Sharif is a reference to the city of Jerusalem). Israel believes all of Jerusalem is its capital, while Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Tell me more: During a TV interview in August 2020, PM Khan pointed to Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who reportedly said Pakistan could not recognize Israel unless it gave freedom to Palestinians. During that same interview, PM Khan claimed the Palestinians are facing “tyranny.”
The context: In August and September 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and then Bahrain, agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Normalizing relations with Israel is a kind of diplomatic agreement that also opens economic and trade ties with the country. The agreement came after the U.S. hosted Israel and several other Arab states for talks in Warsaw, Poland. The topic of discussion: Future of peace in the Middle East. In October 2020, after another U.S.-brokered deal, Sudan also jumped on the recognize Israel bandwagon. As a part of the agreement, the U.S. said it would remove Sudan from a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ list.
The bottom line: Palestinian leaders have constantly asked Arab countries to not establish ties with Israel until the Israelis and Palestinians reach a mutual agreement. Pakistan has never had formal ties to Israel. At this time, even though Pakistan isn’t an Arab country, it is a predominantly Muslim country that appears to be standing with Palestinians. However, Pakistan’s Middle East ally, UAE, agreed to have normal relations with Israel.
3. Lahore smog slowly clearing up post-rain
No one is singing ‘rain rain go away, come again another day,’ now that monsoon season is over, and smog season is rearing its ugly, misty head. Smog levels in Lahore decreased after heavy rains. Even though the air quality hasn’t dropped below 100 in many areas, the rainfall helped a bit (i.e. when the air quality number is above 100, it means air quality is unhealthy). The air quality in Lahore is reportedly worse this year compared to 2019.
4. A good day for fans of Karachi Kings
COVID-19 can’t get in the way of cricket excitement! Pakistanis were closely following the final Pakistan Super League (PSL) match. The Karachi Kings beat the Lahore Qalandars by five wickets. Babar Azam from Karachi Kings is getting shout outs for his epic batting. Karachi Kings captain, Imad Wasim, hit the winning run. After winning their first PSL title, the Karachi Kings will walk away with a trophy and $500,000. Good job to both teams! Thanks for giving people something else to talk and think about besides the pandemic!
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 40,652.67 after rising 147.92 points (+0.37%) as of November 17, 2020.
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