Today’s top Pakistan current affairs September 23,2020 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
- Muhammad Zubair Met COAS Twice to Discuss Nawaz, Maryam Issue: DG ISPR
- First Phase Umrah To Be Started From October 4. Saudi Arabia will gradually resume the year-round umrah pilgrimage for Muslims from October 4, the interior ministry said Tuesday, seven months after it was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- ECC Approves Rs 3850 m Due To Employees Of Pakistan Steel Mills. Economic Coordination Committee has approved an amount of 3850 million rupees due to the employees of Pakistan Steel Mills for the financial year 2020-21 to be disbursed every month.
- Kamal Claims Factory Owners Responsible For Baldia Factory Fire. Chairman of Pak Sar Zameen Party (PSP) Syed Mustafa Kamal has revealed that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) wanted Sindhi-Mohajir clahses and he requested the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to take notice of the situation.
- Kashmir a ‘burning issue’: Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told the UN General Assembly that the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan was a “burning issue”, and called for resolving it through dialogue.’
- Gold price declines by Rs1,050 in domestic market
- Saudi Arabia Bans Flights From India, Exempts Pakistan. Saudi Arabia has announced to lift travel restrictions on Pakistan, after Pakistan’s successful efforts in controlling the Coronavirus outbreak. On the other hand, all flights coming from India, Argentina and Brazil have been banned due to the dire Covid-19 situation in the countries.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- Pakistan reported 532 new cases and 8 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 36,155 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on September 23 at 8:42am).
2. Two men sentenced to death in the Baldia factory fire case
What’s going on? An Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced two former members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to death after finding them guilty of arson. In 2012, they reportedly started a fire that killed 264 people, and injured several others. The men who received death sentences are Abdul Rehman (a.k.a Bhola), and his associate, Zubair Charya. Bhola admitted asking Charya to set the factory on fire after receiving orders from a more senior MQM figure, who police are still looking for. The court also gave four factory guards life imprisonment for being complicit in the crime.
The details: The fire started at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia town, Karachi on September 11, 2012. Around 500 workers were inside the factory when the fire started. Survivors said stacks of finished garments blocked doorways and stairs. Survivors also claimed the building’s doors were locked. There were no fire exits.
Tell me more: The factory owners, Arshad and Shahid Bhaila, were initially arrested, but then released on bail. Afterwards, they moved abroad. Four other people were also acquitted, including MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, who was provincial minister for industries at the time.
The context: At first, the factory fire in Baldia was considered an accident. Later on, investigators discovered that official members of the city’s powerful MQM political group were trying to extort money from the factory. The factory owners were told they would receive “protection” if they paid PKR 200 million.
Remind me, what is MQM? The MQM party dominated politics in Karachi for three decades. In 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) govt launched a major operation in Karachi to improve the law and order situation. This crackdown largely targeted MQM. MQM’s influence decreased over time due to controversies and internal rifts. In 2016, the party split into two factions: MQM-London led by Altaf Hussain (i.e. MQM’s original founder) and MQM-Pakistan (i.e. MQM-P).
The bottom line: The Baldia factory fire is reportedly Pakistan’s worst industrial disaster. Investigators called the fire incident “an act of organized terrorism.” Relatives of the victims feel justice still hasn’t been fully served, since the factory owners were not held responsible for the people who died. According to the relatives, the owners should have known better and closed the factory after getting extortion threats from MQM.
3. Two cousins arrested for raping minor girl
Two cousins in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (i.e. Azad Kashmir) allegedly raped a 10-year-old girl. The suspects are reportedly the sons of the girl’s stepbrothers. One suspect is married and in his mid-20s, and the other is around 18 years old. A local Jirga (i.e. tribal council) settled the rape incident two weeks ago by imposing a PKR 200,000 fine on each suspect. The suspects were ordered to leave the village if they couldn’t pay up. Both men ended up fleeing. However, the police learned about the incident from local sources, and registered a First Information Report (FIR) after a medical exam confirmed the girl was raped. The police have reportedly arrested both suspects.
MARKET RECAP
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,828.91 after dropping 345.23 points (-0.82%) as of September 22, 2020.
Read More: [Quiz] GK & Pakistan Current Affairs Quiz 20 September 2020
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