Today’s top Pakistan current affairs November 25,2020 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
- No one pressurising Pakistan to recognise Israel, says PM. Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday said that there was no pressure on Pakistan to recognise Israel
- FM Qureshi Writes Letter To UNSC President On Kashmir Issue. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written another letter to the President UN Security Council (UNSC) and the Secretary General, updating them on the grave situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).
- Schools In Balochistan To Remain Close From Nov 26 to Feb 28. Department of Education Balochistan has issued notification for closure of schools in the province.
- FM Qureshi Leaves for Niger To Attend OIC Meeting. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the 47th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC beginning in Niger from Friday.
- Funeral Prayer of Begum Shamim to be Held Saturday: Marriyum Aurangzeb. The funeral prayer of Begum Shamim Akhtar, mother of former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, will be held on Saturday November 28.
- Indian fire kills father of three in Pakistan’s Kashmir: ISPR. A 33-year-old man was killed after Indian security forces targeted civilian population in the Bagsar Sector in Azad Kashmir along the heavily militarized Line of Control, the Pakistan Army said on Wednesday.
- Gold Price Drops By Rs300 in Pakistan. The price of gold dropped by Rs300 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.
- Misbah, Yasir nominated for ICC Awards of the Decade. Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq along with star leg-spinner Yasir Shah have been nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards of the Decade.
- Greg Barclay Elected as ICC Chairman. Greg Barclay has been elected as the new Independent Chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and he succeeds Shashank Manohar who stepped down earlier this year.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 3,009 new cases and 59 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 41,583 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on November 25 at 8:06am).
- The Sindh govt is laying out new restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19. Indoor weddings are banned. Indoor dining in restaurants is also banned in the city of Karachi, but outdoor dining is still allowed. There is also a mandatory face mask requirement at govt and private offices, as well as public spaces. People who violate the face mask requirement will have to pay a fine.
- Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mehmood, said educational institutions across the country will offer “home-based learning” from November 26 to December 24. Winter break will also last from December 25 to January 10. There are plans to reopen schools on January 11. However, authorities will review the COVID-19 situation before reopening schools. Lately, educational institutions have been reporting more COVID-19 cases.
- COVID-19 related hospitalizations have picked up in the last two weeks.
2. The govt’s new anti-rape laws
What’s going on? The federal cabinet approved, in-principle, two anti-rape ordinances. The ordinances expand the definition of rape, and recommend exemplary punishment for rapists. These punishments include chemical castration and hanging (P.S. not in public). The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) will also maintain a registry of sex offenders to help track down perpetrators of sex crimes.
The details: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is a strong advocate of severe penalties for rapists. He even proposed public hangings to reduce the rising number of sex crimes in the country. The anti-rape laws are expanding the definition of rape to include “transgender and gang-rape.” The laws also aim to:
- Ensure faster trials in rape cases
- Protect witnesses
- Protect sexual assault survivors
- Assign special high-ranking officers to investigate rape cases
Tell me more: The proposed laws will also end the controversial two-finger test (i.e. hymen test), which examines sexual assault survivors. This virginity test measures the size and elasticity of female genitalia. The test reportedly has little scientific merit, since the appearance of a hymen is not a reliable indication of intercourse. Instead, the test is known to traumatize rape survivors.
Reminder: Some of the most recent rape incidents this year include:
- The motorway gang-rape: In September, two robbers allegedly raped a woman at gunpoint on the motorway. She was traveling from Lahore to Gujranwala with her children.
- The Kashmore rape case: This month, a woman met prime suspect, Rafiq Malik, in Kashmore to follow up on a job prospect. She claimed that he raped her, and then gave her to another man who also raped her. Later on Malik reportedly confessed
that he raped the woman and her minor daughter.
The context: Activists and legal experts argue that existing severe punishments haven’t deterred rape crimes. In their opinion, the problem is the conviction rate. Perpetrators apparently know there is a small chance they’ll be convicted.
The bottom line: The ordinances will be finalized in a week. The point is to make laws tougher and more compressive when dealing with rape and child abuse crimes.
3. PIA got hacked
According to a team of Israeli cybercrime researchers, Russian hackers put PIA’s network access and database up for sale on the dark web. Israeli cyber threat research firm, KELA, noticed a “threat actor” offering PIA’s domain admin access for $4,000. PIA’s leaked database includes information on the people who use PIA (e.g. names, phone numbers, passports). KELA didn’t directly report the incident to PIA since here are no formal diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Israel. However, the Israeli firm still made the alleged hack public through other mediums. Cybercriminals who purchase an organization’s network access on the dark web could potentially launch ransomware attacks.
4. How soon can we expect 5G in Pakistan?
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications, Syed Amin-ul-Haque, said the govt plans to launch 5G mobile phone connectivity in Pakistan by December 2022. However, experts think Haque’s estimated timeline is too ambitious. The existing 4G network still hasn’t reached more than half of the population. Plus, there’s a lack of infrastructure to support a 5G network. According to Former Secretary General of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), Shehryar Hydri, if the govt launches 5G in limited areas by 2022, it’ll take three to five years to expand 5G services across the country. In fact, Hydri thinks a full-scale rollout could even take five to seven years since telecom companies have to invest in network upgrades and 5G licenses, while consumers need to wait for budget-friendly 5G compatible phones.
- Backstory: Earlier this month, Haque made an experimental 5G video call from Islamabad to Beijing. He was pretty happy with the voice and video quality.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 39,863.36 after rising 230.84 points (+0.58%) as of November 24, 2020.
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