Today’s top Pakistan current affairs October 13,2020 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
- Motorway Gang-Rape:Court Handed Over Abid To Police For Identification Parade. A special anti-terrorism court of Lahore handed over the main culprit of motorway case, Abid Malhi to police on a judicial remand for identification parade.
- British Airways’ first flight lands at Lahore airport after 40 years. British Airways has resumed its direct flight operation to and from Lahore as the airline’s first flight touched down at Allama Iqbal International Airport on Tuesday after nearly 40 years.
- PM Imran Khan approves measures to control rising commodities’ prices. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday approved proposed measures aimed at controlling rising prices of basic commodities’ in the country,
- PIA CEO announces reward for air hostess who returned lost cash to passenger. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik on Tuesday announced an Rs100,000 reward for an air hostess of the national flag carrier,
- Gold price reaches Rs116,500 per tola in domestic market. The price of gold remained stable on Tuesday and traded at Rs116,500 per tola in the domestic market,
- Four bogies of freight train derail near Ghotki
- Karachi to pay higher electricity bills from September. The government has increased the price of electricity for Karachi by up to Rs2.89, effective September 2020.
- Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for coronavirus. The Portuguese football federation has confirmed that star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 531 new cases and 8 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 30,022 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on October 13 at 6:52am).
- Is Punjab heading towards a second wave of COVID-19? According to reports, 203 people tested positive in Punjab on Sunday, the highest number since August 15. Lahore appears to be the highest risk city in Punjab. Out of the total 203 cases in the province, 106 are reportedly in Lahore, followed by Multan and Faisalabad. Health officials warned that virus cases might increase in the next few weeks due to “blatant violations” of safety guidelines in govt offices, educational institutions, parks, markets, bazaars, tourism spots, and shopping malls.
- The rate of positive COVID-19 cases coming out of Karachi has increased. According to Planning Minister, Asad Umar, Pakistan’s overall rate of positive COVID-19 cases rose above 2% after a six-week average of less than 2%.
2. Police arrest main suspect in motorway gang-rape case
What’s going on? What a coincidence. Yesterday, we wrote a story titled “waiting for an update 30+ days later.” This breakdown was about a prime suspect in the motorway rape case who was still on the loose. Abid Ali and Shafqat Ali (i.e. Bagga) are the main suspects in the case. Bagga is in jail, and reportedly confessed to committing the crime. Abid was still at large, until now.
The details: Yesterday, unverified social media chatter claimed Abid was arrested two days ago, but we couldn’t confirm if this was true. Today, mainstream media outlets and politicians confirmed that Abid has indeed been arrested in Faisalabad. He is reportedly wanted in at least 10 other criminal cases registered at various police stations across Punjab. The PM’s special assistant, Shahbaz Gill, confirmed the arrest in a tweet. President Arif Alvi said the arrest of both suspects in the motorway rape case is “a matter of national relief.”
The context: Two robbers allegedly raped a woman at gunpoint on the motorway. She was traveling from Lahore to Gujranwala with her children. Her car ran out of fuel while she was crossing the toll plaza on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway. The two armed men took her and her children to a nearby field at gunpoint and gang-raped her. During his interrogation, Shafqat claimed that Abid raped the woman first, and then asked him to do the same. Shafqat said Abid threatened to shoot him if he didn’t rape her. Shafqat and Abid reportedly fled the scene after noticing Dolphin Squad personnel (i.e. a security unit within the Punjab police) closing in.
The bottom line: A few days ago, Twitter users were wondering whether the main suspects in the motorway rape case had been caught. They raised concerns about how a prime suspect in a rape case was still missing after more than a month. President Alvi said the accused should face an efficient trial, and “the severest exemplary punishment” if found guilty. It’s unclear what exactly this punishment will be.
3. Special Advisor to the PM steps down
Remember when the SAPM on Information, Lt. General (retired), Asim Saleem Bajwa, offered his resignation last month, but PM Khan didn’t accept it? Well, the PM finally said ‘ok fine,’ which means Bajwa has officially resigned from his position. However, Bajwa will continue to work as Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority.
- Backstory: In August, journalist Ahmed Noorani published a news report about the Bajwa family’s business interests abroad. According to Noorani, Bajwa said he and his wife don’t have immovable property or business capital outside of Pakistan. However, Noorani mentioned official documents that apparently show Bajwa’s wife as an equal shareholder in the businesses of Bajco Group, along with Bajwa’s brothers. Noorani also alleged that Bajwa used his official roles in Pakistan to help set up his family’s offshore businesses. Bajwa called the allegations “baseless.”
- Resignation submission round one: Bajwa submitted his resignation following the allegations, but PM Khan said ‘not necessary.’ PM Khan believed the documents Bajwa used as evidence against the accusations were good enough.
- The opposition’s response: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (i.e. coalition of opposition leaders) want Bajwa removed as Chairman of the CPEC authority as well until an investigation into the news report is complete.
4. Another B2B e-commerce startup raises funding!
B2B e-commerce marketplace, Retailo, raised $2.3 million in pre-seed funding! Retailo is headquartered in Saudi Arabia, but also operates in Pakistan. Talha Ansari, Muhammad Nowkhaiz, and Wahaj Ahmed founded the startup a few months ago. They’ve previously worked at companies like Careem, Rocket Internet, Daraz, and McKinsey. Retialo’s marketplace gives retailers a platform to procure inventory for their stores. The startup wants to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East, Pakistan, and North Africa. So far, Retailo is starting with small grocery stores in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The startup already launched in Karachi, and recently launched in Riyadh as well.
- Backstory: B2B e-commerce marketplace startups in Pakistan seem to be hopping! Even during a pandemic, we have read about Tajir raising $1.8 million, Bazaar raising $1.3 million, and Dastgyr raising an unspecified six figure investment. Now, Retailo is also in the mix. It looks like investors and entrepreneurs see potential in Pakistan’s B2B e-commerce space due to a large market of 600,000+ retailers. These startups aim to help retailers acquire inventory via an app.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 40,209.82 after dropping 588.61 points (-1.44%) as of October 12, 2020.
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