[Current Affairs] October 07,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for FPSC Test Preparation

What’s going on? A Pakistani court formally charged former President, Asif Ali Zardari, in two corruption cases. Zardari is also co-chair of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). During a court appearance in Islamabad on Monday, Zardari pleaded ‘not guilty’ to money laundering and other corruption charges.

The details: we reported that a private citizen named Badar Rashid in Lahore filed a sedition case against former Prime Minister (PM) and current Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo, Nawaz Sharif. In the First Information Report (FIR), Rashid accused Sharif of conspiring against the country and state institutions during two recent speeches. The FIR also names other PML-N party leaders.

Tell me more: The federal govt is saying they didn’t have anything to do with the sedition case, and that PM Imran Khan didn’t even know about the FIR.

The context: Cases are pouring in against opposition party leaders days before an anti-govt rally. The anti-govt rally is part of the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to take down PM Khan’s govt. PDM’s first public protest is scheduled for October 16 in Gujranwala.

The bottom line: PM Khan has been on a mission to eliminate corruption. However, opposition party leaders believe they are being politically victimized by PM Khan’s govt.

• Backstory: Throwback to November 2019, when Wajid Zia replaced Memon. Zia was serving as Inspector General of the Pakistan Railways Police at the time. Memon resigned to protest against being transferred days before his retirement. The govt was allegedly putting pressure on Memon to initiate cases against opposition leaders, but he didn’t listen.

4. Is there such a thing as a controversial biscuit ad? 

Umm, yes. Watch this Gala Biscuit advertisement featuring Pakistani actress Mehwish Hayat. Do you think it’s inappropriate? Some people do. That’s why the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued an advisory stating that content related to ordinary consumer products, like biscuits or detergent, should be aligned with the nature of the product. According to PEMRA, viewers are feeling uncomfortable with ads that “violate commonly accepted standards of decency, and socio-cultural norms of Pakistani society.” PEMRA urged the Pakistan Broadcaster Association, the Pakistan Advertising Association and the Pakistan Advertisers Society to review the biscuit ad. PEMRA also advised in-house monitoring teams at TV channels to review ad visuals before airing them.