Daily Current Affairs

IN recent times, Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts have witnessed much improvement. From more than 300 reported polio virus cases in 2014 to 54 in 2015, and only 14 this year so far, the decrease is attributed to coordinated national immunisation programmes and the surveillance of high-risk populations. On Monday, a three-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign began. The goal: immunising 37m …

National Sep 24: The SBP directed all banks in the country to freeze accounts linked to 2,021 individuals listed on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997. Some prominent names: Maulvi AbdulAziz (Lal Masjid), Mohsin Najfi (Shia leader), Maulvi Ahmed Ludhianvi (Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat), Aurangzeb Faroogi (ASWJ), Allama Maqsood Domki (Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen), Pariyal Shah (ASWJ), Maulvi Kabir …

War mongering in India is running high and its government reportedly is considering localised military action to teach Pakistan a befitting lesson for its alleged cross-border terrorism. Pakistan is bound to respond in equal measure and according to Stephen Cohen as reported in New York Times recently, ‘the conflict could skid into a nuclear conflict,’ adding it would be devastating …

THE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly was witness to an unusual spectacle on Friday a meeting of minds between the treasury and opposition benches. Legislators across the aisle expressed their reservations about the provincial police force that, according to them, was abusing the powers it has recently acquired under an ordinance and committing excesses against `innocent` people. The heated discussion came …

National Sep 23: The government will recover the cost of security for power projects, mostly under CPEC, from consumers for entire 25-30 years life of the projects. Sep 23: Energy regulators of Saarc agreed to have harmonisation of regulations, codes and standards of electricity grids for cross-border electricity trade in the region. Sep 23: The government appointed Zahid Akhtar Zaman …

The recent killing of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, ISIS’s propaganda chief, has been touted as a great success by the countries trying to decimate ISIS capabilities. It was seen as such a great achievement that both the United States and Russia claimed that their air attacks were responsible for his death. The forces ranged against ISIS—the United States, Turkey, the Iraqi …

National Sep 22: Pakistan was ranked 149th among 188 countries in the Global Burden of Disease Study, the first global assessment of countries’ progress toward the UN’s health-related SDGs. Sep 22: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar directed the FBR to launch an investigation into the offshore accounts mentioned in the Bahamas leaks. Sep 22: The Supreme Court restrained provincial governments from …

To many Indians, their country’s strategic position looks alarming. Its two biggest neighbours are China and Pakistan. It has fought wars with both, and border issues still fester. Both are nuclear-armed, and are allies with one another to boot. China, a rising superpower with five times India’s GDP, is quietly encroaching on India’s traditional sphere of influence, tying a “string …

Will there be a war between India and Pakistan due to attacks by non-state actors on an Indian Army installation at Uri? The question begs an answer due to the strident response of the Indian media. The war clouds obscure the fact that the death knell of conventional wars between the nuclear armed adversaries has already been sounded due to …

LAHORE: During its 71-year old history, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has had only one Pakistani as its President in 1962, when the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Chaudhary Muhammad Zafarullah Khan (1893-1985) was elected for this prestigious slot. Zafarullah Khan had earlier served as Pakistan’s first foreign minister between 1947 and 1954. A devout Ahmedi by …