World in Focus

National  Mar 16: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had an unscheduled meeting with US Vice President Michael Pence at US Vice President’s residence at the US Naval Observatory. Mar 16: WWF-Pakistan and Pakistan Customs signed an MoU to work together through innovative means to curb the illegal wildlife trade in Pakistan. About WWF-Pakistan 1. WWF-Pakistan was formed in 1970. 2. …

NATIONAL Feb 16: Actor Matloobur Rehman, aka Munna Lahori, who played the beloved genie Zakoota in the famous children’s television show Ainak Wala Jinn, passed away. Feb 17: An Anti-terrorism court handed down death sentence on four counts to Imran Ali Naqshbandi on the charges of kidnapping, raping and brutal murdering seven-year-old Zainab Amin of Kasur after completing the trial …

NATIONAL Jan 16: President of Pakistan Federation Baseball and ex-director general Sports Board Punjab Khawar Shah passed away. He was 68. Jan 16: The government announced ‘Idea Award Scheme’ for asking bureaucrats to send suggestions for improving governance and decision-making process by offering them even cash prizes. Paigham-i-Pakistan State Narrative Against Terrorism Jan 16: Paigham-i-Pakistan, a document that offers counter-narrative …

NATIONAL Dec 16: The World Bank approved $300 million loan to modernise agriculture in Punjab, create better prospects for farmers and ensure better quality and safer food at lower prices to consumers. Dec 17: Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was named among the top 11 powerful women of the world by New York Times. Dec …

Jan 02: India successfully test-fired its Agni-IV intercontinental ballistic missile. Jan 06: Veteran actor Om Puri died. Jan 20: Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Jan 29: Iran tested a new ballistic missile, the Khorramshahr, having a range of 1,000 kilometers. Feb 17: Scientists found that New Zealand sits atop a previously unknown …

Jan 04: A distinguished classical singer belonging to the Patiala Gharana of classical music, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, died. Jan 05: Younis Khan became the first batsman to score Test hundreds against 11 countries. Jan 09: Pakistan attained the credible ‘second strike capability’ as it successfully test-fired nuclear capable submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) Babur-III. Jan 11: Governor Sindh Justice (Retd.) …

NATIONAL Nov 16: The National Assembly passed the 24th Constitution Amendment Bill 2017, paving the way for the ECP to carry out fresh delimitation of constituencies on the basis of provisional census data. Nov 17: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously passed a Pakistan-sponsored resolution, reaffirming the universal realization of the right to self-determination for people. The resolution was …

NATIONAL Oct 16: Representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US held their meeting in Muscat, Oman to rejuvenate the stalled Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) working to restore peace in Afghanistan. Oct 16: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended the membership of 261 legislators – 7 senators, 71 MNAs, 84 MPAs of Punjab, 50 MPAs of Sindh, 38 MPAs …

NATIONAL Sep 16: Pakistan asked the World Bank to constitute a court of arbitration to settle its water dispute with India after India and Pakistan secretary-level talks, at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, failed. Sep 16: AJK President Sardar Masood Khan took oath as the chief of the AJK Boy Scouts Association. Sep 16: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi …

NATIONAL Aug 16: PML-N nominated Senator Yaqoob Khan Nasar as the acting president of the party. The PML-N came into being in 1990, and since then, Shahbaz Sharif is the only person, other than Nawaz Sharif, to have held the office of party chief. Aug 16: The United States designated Hizbul Mujahideen as a specially designated terrorist organisation led by …