Today’s top Pakistan current affairs September 15,2020 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 Rape Suspect Handed Over To Police On Physical remand. The session court in Lahore handed over suspect Shafqat, who had confessed to raping a woman in front of her children on the motorway near Gujjarpura, in police custody on six-day physical remand.
- Another Suspect In Motorway Rape Incident Transferred To Lahore. Police have arrested another suspect in the Lahore motorway gang-rape case during a raid in Chichawatni and has been shifted to Lahore.
- Marwah rape-murder: 2 suspects remanded in police custody, one set free
- PAF training aircraft crashes in Rawalpindi, no causalities reported. A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) training aircraft crashed in Rawalpindi’s Pindi Ghaip area during a routine flight, said PAF spokesperson in a statement on Tuesday.
- Indian Objection to Display of Pakistan’s New Political Map Rejected by SCO. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday rejected India’s objection to the display of Pakistan’s new political map which was clearly visible in the background during Dr Moeed Yusuf’s participation in a meeting that took place a day earlier.
- Cabinet approves cancellation of licenses of 22 more pilots, initiate criminal proceedings. The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved the cancellation of 22 more pilot licenses based on the licenses having been obtained through ‘fake computer-based’ examinations.
- British Airways announces direct flights from Lahore to London. British Airways announced on Tuesday that it will begin flying direct flights from Lahore to London four days a week.
- Teenager dies after falling from school stairs in Karachi.
- Gold prices increase by Rs650 per tola in domestic market.
- PCB Prepares COVID-19 SOPs for Pakistan-Zimbabwe Series
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 404 new cases and 6 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 27,277 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on September 15 at 8:47am).
- It’s back-to-school time for students in Pakistan. Educational institutions will reopen in three phases starting today after more than six months. Schools couldn’t issue annual exams either. Some private and public universities started online classes, which were hard for students who struggled with load-shedding and limited internet access. Private schools also launched online classes. PM Khan said it was the govt’s priority, and the nation’s responsibility, to make sure students could go to school safely. Schools are reopening due to a reported drop in new COVID-19 cases.
- Some back-to-school safety measures: Children have to wear masks, wash their hands regularly, and stay home if they’re sick. Teachers need to maintain social distancing between children. The school needs to be notified ASAP if a child tests positive for COVID-19.
2. PM Khan recommends severe punishment for rapists
What’s going on? During an interview with journalist Moeed Pirzada, on 92 News, PM Khan said rapists should be publicly hanged. He also proposed surgical or chemical castration, a punishment other countries reportedly use against rapists (i.e. chemical castration involves using a drug to reduce testosterone levels and affect sex drive).
The details: PM Khan said he was shocked when police told him that sex crimes in Pakistan are on the rise. He claimed that vulgarity is causing an increase in sexual crimes: “when you increase vulgarity in society, two things happen – sex crimes increase, and the family system breaks down.” He also regrets that Pakistan doesn’t have a registry of sex offenders.
The bottom line: Rape is rarely reported in Pakistan. The rape conviction rate in Pakistan can be as low as 2%. The conviction rate is apparently even lower in cases where minors are raped. Conviction rates are reportedly low for reasons like social stigmas, the misogynistic attitudes of police officials, lapses in the collection of forensic evidence, and sloppy prosecutorial practices. The question is, how can you punish rapists if rape cases aren’t being reported?
3. An arrest and confession in the motorway rape case
Punjab police arrested another suspect in the motorway rape case. The suspect, Shafqat Ali, reportedly confessed to the crime as well. Ali’s DNA reportedly matched samples from the crime scene. Police are still trying to arrest the primary suspect, Abid Ali, who was reportedly involved in a previous rape case as well. According to the police, another suspect, Waqarul Hassan, gave them info about Shafqat Ali. Hassan and his brother-in-law Abbas, who is also a suspect, denied their involvement in the rape incident.
- Backstory: Two robbers raped a woman in her early 30s at gunpoint on the motorway last week. Her car ran out of fuel while she was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala with her children. Two armed men took her and her children to a nearby field at gunpoint and gang-raped her. The robbers also snatched her cash, jewellery and other valuables.
- The protests: Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) in Lahore, Muhammad Umar Sheikh, questioned why she left the house late at night, drove alone with her kids, didn’t check the petrol in her car, and didn’t take a route called GT road that is more populated. A few days after protesters accused him of victim-blaming and called for his resignation, he reportedly apologized: “I did not mean anything wrong…if any misunderstanding was caused because of me, then I apologize.” Protesters across the country are also demanding justice, accountability, safety for women, and structural reform to end patriarchal violence.
4. Signs of business momentum in Pakistan
Pakistan’s business activity is reportedly picking up speed after eased lockdown measures. Concerns about new COVID-19 cases are also fading away. Growing sales for cement, fuel and cars apparently indicate that the economy is waking up. Manufacturing output also improved, and is expected to be stronger in the October-to-December quarter due to a potential increase in worldwide demand.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 42,531.31 after rising +0.64% as of September 14, 2020.
[dkpdf-button]