Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS

CURRENT EVENTS IN 2022

2022 (MMXXII) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2022nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 22nd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 3rd year of the 2020s decade.

The United Nations declared 2022 as:

• International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture,
• International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development
• International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development
• International Year of Glass.

JANUARY 2022

1^st January, 2022

• The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, survived an assassination attempt on the 1^st of January 2022. The event occurred at a ceremony in celebration of the country’s independence.
• Israel reported the first case in the world of “florona”, on the 1^st of January 2022. In this condition, a patient has both the covid-19 as well as influenza. It was reported in a pregnant woman who was unvaccinated.
• In early January 2022, Finland rejected the demands of Russia of not joining NATO. The Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, rejected Russian pressure on this issue and clarified that it is Finland’s right to join the alliance if it sees fit.
• Austria legalized doctor assisted suicide in early January 2022. This decision was taken for adults (above 18 years of age) who suffer from terminal illnesses or a permanent and severe life-hampering condition.

2nd January, 2022

• Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war continued, when on the 2^nd of January 2022, Russian jets bombarded the rebel city of Idlib. This resulted in the city losing its water supply.
• Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a newspaper from Switzerland, has reported that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was responsible for the bombing of German and Swiss firms in 1981, which were aiding Pakistan in the development of its nuclear program.

4th January, 2022

• The biggest carnival in the world, “The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro”, was announced in early January to be cancelled for 2022, due to covid-19. The carnival was to be held from the 25^th of February to 1^st of March. Approximately 2 million people are part of the carnival per day when it happens.

5th January, 2022

• A nationwide state of emergency was declared in Kazakhstan on the 5^th of January 2022. This came about due to protests in the country due to an increase in the gasoline prices. The situation escalated to a point where the presidential palace was set ablaze, and the government had to resign.
• The Grammy Awards were announced on the 5^th of January to be postponed due to an increase in the omicron covid-19 variant.

6th January, 2022

• The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), led by Russian forces, entered into Kazakhstan on a peace mission to help restore order to the country. The assistance was requested by the Kazakh President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
• Novak Djokovic was detained by the Australian Border Force when he arrived in the country for participating in the 2022 Australian Open. Djokovic failed to provide a valid medical exemption for him not being vaccinated against the covid-19 virus. Djokovic came into the tournament as the defending champion.

8th January, 2022

• It was reported in early January that at least 200 people were killed by a bandit group in Nigeria from the 4^th till the 6^th of January, 2022.
• At least 20 people were reported dead, and thousands of vehicles were trapped due to a snow storm in Murree, Pakistan in early January, 2022.

10th January, 2022

• On the 10^th of January, 2022, Ukrainian authorities arrested a man who was alleged to be a Russian spy. It was reported that he was recruiting others to launch attacks on the Ukrainian city of Odessa.
• The CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla announced that Pfizer would develop a vaccine for the Omicron variant of the covid-19 by March, 2022.
• In the first case of successful case of pig-to-human xenotransplantation, a pig’s heart was transplanted in the heart of a man by doctors at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, on the 10^th of January, 2021.

11th January, 2022

• Roberta Metsola, member of the European Parliament from Malta, became the acting President of the said parliament after the passing of David Sassoli in Italy, on the 11^th of January, 2022.

12th January, 2022

• Nigeria lifted its Twitter ban on the 12^th of January 2022. The ban was imposed in June 2021, when Twitter deleted a tweet by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

13th January, 2022

• WHO issued guidelines in mid of January, 2022, that Baricitinib, a drug used to treat patients of rheumatoid arthritis, be used to treat critical patients of covid-19, in addition to corticosteroids.

16th January, 2022

• The Serbian tennis star, Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia on the 16^th of January, 2022, due to the controversy over him not being vaccinated when arriving in the country to defend his Australian Open title. He was disqualified and replaced with the Italian, Salvatore Caruso.

19th January, 2022

• Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, arrived in Ukraine on the 19^th of January as a show of support of the US for Ukraine. This came amid the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

20th January, 2022

• Zara Rutherford became the youngest female pilot (at age 19) to fly solo around the world on the 20^th of January, when she returned to Belgium to conclude her five month journey.

21st January, 2022

• An airstrike on a prison in Yemen on the 21^st of January, 2022, led to the deaths of about 100 people. The strike was carried out by the Royal Saudi Air Force.

22nd January, 2022

• The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government claimed in January 2022 that Russia was planning to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine.

23rd January, 2022

• The Armenian President, Armen Sarkissian, resigned from office on the 23^rd of January on grounds that the constitution of the country didn’t allot sufficient decision making power to him in order to influence events. He was elected in 2018.

24th January, 2022

• US and UAE forces stationed at an air base near Abu Dhabi intercepted two ballistic missiles fired at the base on the 24th of January, 2022. The attack was launched by Yemeni Houthis.

25th January, 2022

• A major blackout occurred in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on the 25^th of January, 2022. This occurred when a power line was disconnected in Kazakhstan. The power grids of the three countries are interconnected.

27th January, 2022

• During a telephonic conversation on the 27^th of January, 2022, the US President Joe Biden said to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that Russia could invade Ukraine in February of 2022.
• Xiomara Castro was sworn in as the President of Honduras on the 27^th of January, 2022. She became the country’s first female president, and the 56^th

Jan 28, 2022

• Xiomara Castro was sworn in as the first female President of Honduras. The inauguration of the 62-years old leftist former first lady will put an end to the 12 years of right-wing National Party rule in the Central American country which has also been grappling with poverty, drug trafficking, migration, and corruption.

30th January, 2022

• Rafael Nadal won the men’s singles event at the 2022 Australian Open. He defeated Danill Medvedev in the final. This was his 21^st Grand Slam win, which is the most title wins by any player in history.

FEBRUARY 2022

Feb 9, 2022

The World Health Organisation warned against complacency in following COVID-19 protocol saying that Omicron will not be the last variant of COVID-19.

Feb 17, 2022

Michiaki Takahashi developed the world’s first chickenpox vaccine named “Oka” in early 1974. The lifesaving vaccine has been administered to millions of children around the world.

Feb 22, 2022

Australia had shut its borders for international tourists at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 to contain the spread of the virus.

Feb 22, 2022

The Queen would bring in her platinum jubilee in private, same as all previous years, as the anniversary of her accession marks the date her father George VI died. No public engagements were planned for the day.

Feb 22, 2022

The Russian President also ordered the sending of Russian Armed Forces to the two breakaway regions of Ukraine after recognising their independence.

Feb 27, 2022

Japan has also joined its Western allies in ejecting selected Russian banks from SWIFT, a Belgium-based co-operative that serves as an intermediary and executor of financial transactions between banks worldwide.

MARCH 2022

Mar 1, 2022

NATO ally Turkey has closed off the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in the Black Sea to warships from any country to potentially limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

Mar 2, 2022

UNGA resolution on Ukraine: The resolution was passed with 141 countries voting in favour including the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany, 5 against including Russia and 35 abstentions.

Mar 4, 2022

CAATSA Act: The ‘Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)’ is a piece of US legislation that imposes sanctions on the American Adversaries- North Korea, the States of Iran, and Russia.

Mar 9, 2022

McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola have joined the list of global giants that announced the suspension of business in Russia over the Ukraine invasion.

Mar 11, 2022

Yoon Suk Yeol received 48.6 percent of the votes, while his Democratic rival Lee Jae-myung received 47.8 percent of the votes.

Mar 11, 2022

Islamic State in an audio message named Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi as its new leader, confirming the death of previous head Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, who was killed by the US in north-western Syria in February 2022.

Mar 17, 2022

Miss World 2021 Winner announced: Karolina Bielawaska from Poland has won the crown of Miss World 2021 at the 70th edition of the beauty pageant at San Juan, Puerto Rico. India’s Manasa Varanasi made it to the Top 13, almost 3 months after India’s Harnaaz Sandhu brought home Miss Universe 2021 crown after 21 years.

Mar 22, 2022

Boeing 737-800 crash in China: The China Eastern flight MU5735 was carrying 132 people, including 123 passengers and nine crew members.  It had taken off from at 1.11pm from Kunming and was scheduled to land at 3.05pm in Guangzhou. No survivors found.

Mar 28, 2022

Oscars 2022 Winners List: Oscars 2022 for Best Picture has gone to ‘CODA’ while the Best Actress Oscars 2022 in leading role went to Jessica Chastain for ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’. Will Smith took home the Oscars ‘Best Actor in Leading Role’ for ‘King Richard’. Check the full list of 94th Academy Awards winners.

Mar 30, 2022

BIMSTEC Summit 2022: BIMSTEC countries will adopt a BIMSTEC Charter to develop institution architecture for the group. Know BIMSTEC Member Countries, BIMSTEC Purpose and Key Agenda.

Mar 31, 2022

Bruce Willis, ‘Die Hard, ‘Sixth Sense’ star, announced retirement from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia. Bruce Willis gained widespread recognition as an action hero after his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988-2013) and in other subsequent roles.

APRIL 2022

Apr 4, 2022

Imran Khan No-Trust Vote: Imran Khan was de-notified as Pakistan prime minister by the cabinet division after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

Apr 8, 2022

Pakistan SC declared the deputy speaker’s move of rejecting the no-confidence vote against Imran Khan’s government as unconstitutional and called for a no-trust vote at 10 am on April 9th.

Apr 8, 2022

Russia suspended from UNHRC: The resolution which was titled ‘Suspension of the Rights of membership of the Russian Federation in the Human Rights Council’ was adopted with 93 votes in favor, 24 against the suspension, and 58 absentations.

Apr 8, 2022

Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed Sentenced to Jail: Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed has been sentenced to 31 years in Jail by Pakistan’s Anti-Terror Court as per media reports. As per the court’s order, all properties belonging to the Pakistan-based Terrorist have been confiscated as well.

Apr 10, 2022

UK PM Boris Johnson traveled to Kyiv in Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia to meet Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in person, in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

Apr 11, 2022

Shehbaz Sharif replaces Imran Khan, who became the first Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted from power after losing the no-trust vote in the National Assembly.

Apr 12, 2022

Sri Lanka has announced default on all its external debt worth $51 billion, calling the move a “last resort” after running out of foreign exchange to import essential goods.

Apr 20, 2022

China Solomon island deal: China-Solomon Islands security pact has been signed to enhance social stability and long-term tranquility in the Islands. However, the pact has raised concerns among the western countries fearing that the agreement could give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific.

Apr 21, 2022

Russia’s Defence Ministry called Sarmat as the most powerful missile with the longest range of destruction of targets in the world, which will significantly increase the combat power of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.

Apr 25, 2022

France Elections 2022: Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen by a comfortable margin and became the first President in France in 20 years to win the re-election. The latest win of Emmanuel Macron in French Elections 2022 has also prompted a wave of relief in Europe that the far-right has been kept out of power.

Apr 26, 2022

Twitter Elon Musk: Twitter has confirmed the sale of the company to Tesla Chief Elon Musk for USD 44 billion. The deal has come after Musk revealed last week that he had lined up USD 46.5 billion in financing to acquire

Twitter.

Apr 28, 2022

Russia withdraws from UN Tourism Body ahead of a vote to suspend Russia’s membership over its invasion of Ukraine. UNWTO while commenting on Russia’s suspension also said that it is the first time it has met to consider the suspension of one of its members.

Apr 29, 2022

QUAD Leaders’ Summit 2022 will take place in Tokyo on May 24 where the leaders of four nations- India, Japan, US, and Australia will exchange views on various regional and global issues.

MAY 2022

May 9, 2022

Victory Day 2022 Russia: Victory Day 2022 in Russia is a significant one as the country continues its war with Ukraine. Learn the significance of this day and why it may be a turning point amid the Russia-Ukraine war 2022.

May 9, 2022

Monkeypox outbreak 2022: Monkeypox virus was first identified in a captive monkey and since 1970 the sporadic outbreaks of Monkeypox virus have been reported across 10 African countries.  The first-ever recorded occurrence of the Monkeypox virus in England was in 2018.

May 10, 2022

South Korea President: The new South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol said in his inaugural speech that he will consider sending significant economic aid to North Korea, but only if the country first gives up its nuclear Programme.

May 12, 2022

2nd Global COVID Summit:  Global COVID Summit 2022 intends to galvanize the new actions to address the continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and build stronger global health security.

May 13, 2022

Sri Lanka news: Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has already served as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka five times, accepted the post after securing the support of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

May 20, 2022

Turkey blocked an early move to fast-track the Sweden and Finland’s requests demanding that they extradite “terrorists” and that the alliance respect its concerns.

May 21, 2022

Hong Kong Chief Executive: In 2021, China overhauled Hong Kong’s electoral system and specified that only patriots, that is, those loyal to the Communist Party of China can run.

May 30, 2022

Nepal Plane Crash Tara Air: On the morning of May 29, a Nepal plane flying from the tourist city of Pokhara to Jomsom at 9.55 am, had lost contact, after it reached the Lete area of Mustang. 22 people were on board the crashed Nepal plane including 4 Indians.

May 30, 2022

The rapid decline in China’s population is expected to have a massive impact on China’s economy. China’s working-age population, which peaked in 2014, is projected to shrink to less than one-third of that peak by 2100.

 JUNE 2022

1st June

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial assembly passed a “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare (Amendment) Act, 2022 which tightens penalties for crimes such as child sexual abuse, pornography, organ trade and trafficking.
• The bill said that those who are convicted in child abuse or child trafficking will either be sentenced to life imprisonment or they could also face 14-20 years behind the bars.
• S. President Joe Biden has agreed to provide Ukraine with advanced longer range missiles as part of a $700 million weapons package on Wednesday.
• They can strike with precision at targets up to 80 kilometers away.
• Biden said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will end through diplomacy, but the United States must provide significant weapons and ammunition to give Ukraine the highest leverage at the negotiating table.
• “We will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Biden wrote in a op-ed in The New York Times.
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed their pledge to upgrade the excellent bilateral ties to new heights by infusing new vigour to two-way cooperation in diverse fields. At the joint news conference, Shehbaz said he held very productive talks with President Erdogan and voiced hope that under the dynamic leadership of Turkish president, the bilateral ties would scale new heights.
• Mahwish Sharif, who is from a remote village in central Balochistan’s Kachi district, turned all the odds in her favor as she earned a medical degree and was named the first doctor with hearing impairment in Balochistan at Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital. The hospital is the province’s only health facility for the treatment of respiratory and viral diseases in Quetta, despite years of bigotry.

2^nd June

• He Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan pre-arrest bail for 15 days in the 14 cases registered against him by Sharif Government. The decision came straight after the party’s chairman ended his ‘Azadi March’ on May 25. Imran Khan’s counsel Babar Awan filed the petition in the court which was heard by PHC Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan.
• Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announceda nationwide protest against rising inflation and load shedding.  According to details, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Farrukh Habib and former state minister on Twitter said that on the instructions of party chairman Imran Khan, there will be a nationwide protest tomorrow (Friday) against rising inflation, load shedding and incompetence of imported government.

3^rd June

• MPCL- Mari Petroleum Company Limited has unearthed massive gas reserves in North Waziristan which entail the potential to produce 15% of the total gas of the country alongside saving foreign remittances worth $1.5 billion per annum. According to MPCL, 25 million cubic feet of gas production has been started from the ST-1 well drilled in Bannu, KPK. Crude oil generation from Bannu West has also been launched and more wells will ascertain as uninterrupted gas supply of 2000MCFPD, once in operation.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said in December, “Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people’s culture, civilization, and values.”

4^th June

The Pakistan government has increased the  defence budget for the outgoing fiscal year by nearly 6 per cent to over PKR 1.45 trillion to meet the critical needs of the country’s armed forces amid national economy under strain. This decision to increase the budget was taken by Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to meet the enhanced salary requirements and other key needs.

5^th June

The news of a Pakistani woman gang-raped on, board the Bahauddin Zakariya Express by three staffers jolted the entire country. The unfortunate news has not only damaged the country’s reputation globally but also has countless women concerned for their safety. Following the incident, the Government of Pakistan announced a new app called ‘Safar Saheli‘. The instructions on how to download and use the application will be printed on every ticket, along with an emergency number.

6^th June

• Seven terrorists were killed in two separate intelligence based operations (IBOs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province’s Bannu and North Waziristan districts. According to the ISPR, those killed remained actively involved in terrorist activities against the security forces.
• On Monday, it was announced that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a punishing vote of no confidence by his fellow Conservative Party Lawmakers following anger over lockdown-breaking parties at Dowing Street and overall discontent with his leadership.
• And eventually he won the confidence vote on June 7th.

June 7^th

• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for the start of her two-day visit to Pakistan. The Green party lawmaker held talks with her counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari which centered around bilateral cooperation and regional challenges, including the situation in Afghanistan.
• Pakistan’s government ended Saturday as a work day for its employees under a raft of energy-saving measures aimed at easing fuel shortages that have triggered rolling blackouts. Purchases of new vehicles for use by officials and appliances such as air conditioners will be stopped, the volume of fuel allocated to government offices will be cut by 40% and overseas trips will be halted, according to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. The nation is aiming to lower energy consumption at government offices by 10%, she said.

June 10^th

• An anti-terrorism court (ATC) granted pre-arrest bail to fourteen Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leaders till June 17 in a case related to the party’s recent long march. The relief comes a day after the ATC in Lahore had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the former ruling party’s leaders at the request of Shahdara police station under charges of damaging public property, torturing police officials, and creating chaos during the party’s long march to Islamabad on May 25.
• The federal government announced a 15% increase in the salary of the government employees, as well as a 5% increase in the pensions for retired government employees. “The prime minister has rejected the Finance Ministry’s proposal of a 10% increase and has approved an increase in government employees’ salaries of 15% with the consent of the cabinet,” Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced after the meeting.
• PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan rejected the budget for the new fiscal year, terming it “anti-people” and “anti-business”. The budget is based on “unrealistic assumptions” on inflation and economic growth, he said. In the budget, the government has set the targets for inflation and economic growth at 11.5 per cent and 5pc, respectively. “[This] indicates that inflation will be between 25-30pc, which on the one hand will destroy the common man, and on the other hand, retard economic growth due to high interest rates.”

June 12^th

According to the details, Pakistan Customs, while conducting operations on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, thwarted an attempt to smuggle fertilizer and sugar across the Torkham border. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) spokesman said that 140 bags of fertilizer and 120 bags of sugar were being smuggled into Afghanistan. The driver has been arrested while the vehicle along with sacks of sugar and fertilizer has been confiscated. It is worth remembering that in order to stabilize the price of sugar, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif banned the export of sugar to meet the needs of the country and also ordered strict measures against smuggling.

June 13^th

Group (JUI) announced political and religious alliance with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). According to sources, Head of JUI Sherani Group, Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani along with a 25-member delegation met PTI Chairman Imran Khan and announced to form an alliance with the PTI. Imran Khan welcomed the Head of JUI Sherani Group Maulana Khan Sherani along with a 25-member and said that PTI strives to achieve higher political and social goals beyond traditional politics.

June 15^th

In Swat,  eight suspected arsonists have been booked on charges of allegedly being involved in setting fire to the forests in various parts of district Swat, police officials confirmed.On the other hand, fresh incident of wildfire was successfully brought under control in Marghazar, Teghak and Shoqdara areas of the district.

June 16^th

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the assets statement of parliamentarians for the year 2021.According to the data provided by the ECP, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif owned assets worth Rs245 million in 2021. The ECP data shows that the PM is also indebted to Rs140 million. The PM has also taken a loan of Rs60 million from his son Salman Shehbaz Sharif, it added.Meanwhile, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari owned Rs1.6 billion assets in 2021, with a bank balance of over Rs120 million. While the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari owns assets worth Rs710 million, while he does not have any overseas assets.

June 17^th

• PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has announced the protests from 21:00 to denounce the current administration led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who Khan claims has been unable to curb rising inflation.
• Pakistan had embarked on a massive diplomatic campaign to remove itself from the FATF’s grey list. The Pakistan delegation is led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of Pakistan’s National FATF Coordination Committee. Pakistan requires the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to be removed from the list, and all three countries have pledged their full support to Pakistani authorities.

June 19^th

• President Dr Arif Alvi has once again refused to sign the election amendment bill that he had returned as he believes the legislation is “regressive” and urged Parliament to consider the use of technology in the elections.A statement issued by the president’s secretariat on Sunday said that Dr Alvi “has not signed the bill despite the fact, that the constitution that he upholds, will make it into law”
• Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) workers and supporters on Sunday took to the streets in various cities across the country to protest against rising inflation on the call of party chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

June 20^th

The US has agreed to help cash-strapped Pakistan negotiate a deal with the IMF for the revival of the country’s economic bailout. programme with the global lender. Pakistan and the IMF have not yet been able to reach close to a staff-level agreement for the revival of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), leaving Pakistani authorities in a tight spot to bridge the gap and get the updated federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 passed by the National Assembly. The US has agreed to help Pakistan negotiate a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

June 21^st

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has issued an assassination threat against PTI Chairman Imran Khan. According to the danger notice issued by the CTD’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wing, “terrorists are planning to assassinate Imran Khan and have sought assistance from an assassin in Afghanistan.”

June 22^nd

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.1 shook parts of Pakistan, killing 280 people in Afghanistan. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the epicenter of the quake was 44km southwest of Khost in Afghanistan at a depth of 50.8km. The quake struck at 1:54 am (local time).The tremors were felt in Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and other parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

June 24^th

Pakistan received a $2.3 billion Chinese consortium loan that would help stabilize its dwindling foreign exchange reserves, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail confirmed, after saying the South Asian nation was no longer on the path to debt default. The development comes as foreign exchange reserves held by the Pakistani central bank deplete to as little as $8.2 billion — barely enough for 45 days of imports — with the Pakistani rupee at record lows against the US dollar.

June 25^th

The amendments made in the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 by the government were challenged by PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Supreme Court. The former prime minister filed a petition in the top court under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution. In his petition, the PTI chairman said that the amendment has taken away the authority of appointing a NAB chairman and has given the responsibility to the current government which will “maneuver by the bulk of the holders of public office to assume control over and influence the impartiality of the NAB chairman.”

June 26^th

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the PK-7 by-election as its candidate Fazl Mula secured 18,884 votes inflicting defeat on Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Hussain Ahmad.

June 27^th

Ministry for Industries and Production, the Cabinet Secretariat and Customs suggested revoking the ban on the import of cell phones as it generates taxes worth millions of rupees. As per the statistics, the country imported 940,000 mobile phone sets during five months of the current year. During the previous year, over 10.2 million mobile phone sets were imported to the country.

30^th June

In a major setback to the PML-N’s government in Punjab, the Lahore High Court (LHC) accepted the appeals of the PTI filed against the election of Hamza Shahbaz as chief minister, and ordered a recount of votes with the exclusion of the 25 defecting party members who voted for him. A larger bench of the LHC— headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan — and comprising Justice Shahid Jamil, Justice Shehram Sarwar, Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued the 4-1 verdict.

JULY 2022

July 2^nd

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) organized a “historic” power show at Islamabad’s Parade Ground. The NOC was provided in response to the party’s application on June 27 for permission to stage a public protest at Parade Ground.The gathering, according to the NOC, shall not disturb or violate the fundamental rights of citizens of Islamabad and surrounding areas. The gathering must not block the Islamabad Expressway and must end by 12 a.m.

July 5^th

Senior journalist and Express News anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan, the most vocal critic of the ruling coalition, was arrested from Islamabad Toll Plaza late disregarding the fact that a court has already granted him a pre-arrest bail.

July 7^th

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has decided in principle to provide transport facility to girls’ students of public sector schools in far-flung areas under the Parents Teachers Council (PTC) Funds.

July 9^th

Elon Musk ended his $44bn (£36bn) bid to buy Twitter, alleging multiple breaches of the agreement. The announcement is the latest twist in a long-running saga after the world’s richest person decided to buy Twitter in April. Mr Musk said he had backed out because Twitter failed to provide enough information on the number of spam and fake accounts.

July 9^th

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has granted bail to senior journalist Imran Riaz Khan and ordered his release.

12^th July

NASA shared the images taken from the world’s most powerful space technology, James Webb. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far. Webb’s First Deep Field is galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, and it is teeming with thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared.

14^th July

The deal between Pakistan and IMF has finally been locked. The long-awaited agreement could pave the way for the release of $1.17 billion to Pakistan as the country grapples with high inflation and political instability.

14^th July

The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the foreign conspiracy theory of PTI and said courts give verdicts on evidence not speculations. It was the executive duty to take a decision on cipher but the PTI government didn’t conduct or order any inquiry. The court was not shown the complete cipher but a few contents were placed only for arguments and not the complete cipher in front of court.

July 15^th

Faisal Niazi joined PTI days ahead of by-polls. Speaker Punjab Assembly Pervaiz Elahi accepted the resignation of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Faisal Niazi and he afterwards joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

July 17^th

Few hours before the by-elections, Punjab government suffered another blow as another PML-N legislator met with PTI leaders and announced to resign from Punjab Assembly. This is second MPA to tender resignation in as many days while another PML-N lawmaker has been disqualified on fake degree – taking the toll to three lawmakers in two days’ time.

July 17^th

PTI wrested control of Punjab back from the PML-N on Sunday with a landslide victory in the by-election on 20 constituencies. The party won 15 constituencies, dealing a major blow to the PML-N, who only clinched four. PTI candidates clinch victory in 15 constituencies, while PML-N manages to win only four. The by-polls on the 20 Punjab Assembly seats were crucial as they were to decide the fate of Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz. With 15 seats in hand, PTI is likely to defeat Hamza when a recount of votes for the chief minister election takes place on July 22.

July 19^th

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) has developed an application through which all passport payments can be made online while saving citizens from long queues at banks. In a tweet, the minister said that online passport payments will put a full stop to long queues and cumbersome trips to the banks.

July 21^st

Aftab Sultan was appointed as the NAB chairman after the formal approval of the federal cabinet meeting held today. Constitutionally, the term of chairman of NAB is four years while Iqbal completed his term in October 2021, but the PTI promulgated the NAB amendment ordinance through which he was given an extension till the appointment of a new chairman of NAB.

July 22^nd

• Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has refused to support Pervaiz Elahi in the election for the Punjab Chief Minister ship. According to sources, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain confirmed writing the letter. In a major development before the voting, PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi said that his uncle, Chaudhry Shujaat, has refused to back Imran Khan s candidate. He said that he had gone to visit Shujaat but he refused to issue a video recording in this regard. “I have lost and Imran Khan has lost as well but Zardari has won
• Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter. According to Mazari, Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 176 votes, but only after 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.

July 23^rd

Supreme Court of Pakistan Saturday said that Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz will work as a trustee till Monday (July 25).The orders came during a hearing on PML-Q leader Pervez Elahi’s petition against Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari’s ruling in the provincial CM’s election held on Friday. The Supreme Court issued the directives after it resumed the hearing of a petition filed by Elahi, challenging the ruling of Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly  Dost Mazari.The court, in its verbal order, has said that the chief minister’s powers will be limited. “All the appointments will be merit-based and those made without merit will be nullified,” it was added. The Supreme Court said that the chief minister will not do anything for political gain and that the court will keep a check on him.

24^th July

Flash floods caused massive destruction in upper Kohistan. Atleast 50 houses swept away.

25^th July

The Supreme Court of Pakistan heard a petition moved by Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, a candidate for the CM’s office, against the ruling of Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Dost Muhammad Mazari over the fate of PML-Q votes.Chief Justice Ejaz ul Ahsan said that if you prove from the constitution that the party leader can overrule the decision of parliamentary party, then we are with you.

 

 

July 26^th

• The ruling coalition parties announced boycott of the Supreme Court proceedings on Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s appeal against the re-election of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, hours after an apex court bench declined to form a full court on the matter. The ruling coalition, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and other allied parties, wanted the full court hearing of the petition filed by the PML-Quaid leader. However, a three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, rejected the petition of the coalition parties.
• The Supreme Court declared Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on Punjab chief minister’s election null and void and ruled that Pervaiz Elahi will be the new Punjab chief minister. A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar announced the verdict after completion of the hearing on Punjab CM case.

July 27^th

• The swearing-in ceremony of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi took place in the President’s House in Islamabad, where President Dr. Arif Alvi administered the oath of office to the newly elected Punjab chief minister.
• Leaders of the ruling coalition from the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP met with senior officials of the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP), including the chief election commissioner (CEC), in an effort to convince the electoral body to announce its verdict reserved in the prohibited funding case involving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). And EPC is expected to announce the verdict in the first week of August.

July 28^th

The treasury benches in the Punjab Assembly passed the no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, hours after electing Sibtain Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the new speaker. Sibtain Khan was polled 185 votes of the lawmakers from the PTI, the PML-Quaid and other allies. His rival PML-N’s Saiful Malook Khokhar obtained 175 votes – three short of the opposition’s total strength of 178 in the provincial legislature.

July 30^th

Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi made it mandatory for the groom and bride to sign the oath of Khatam-e-Nabuwat at the time of marriage. He instructed the issuance of new forms containing the affidavit of Khatam-e-Nabuwaat to the marriage registrar.

 

AUGUST 2022

Pakistani police open an anti-terrorism investigation against Imran Khan

On Monday, 22 August 2022; According to the police document, an investigation was launched after Khan threatened to “take action” against the head of police and a female magistrate during a speech in Islamabad. Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, is being investigated for alleged violations of anti-terror laws. They have prohibited him from holding live television sessions. This could exacerbate tensions between Khan and the coalition government. Khan has not publicly commented on the investigation.

 

Thai Prime Minister Suspended by Court, Awaiting Review of Term Limit

After deciding to hear a petition asking for a review of his legally required eight-year term limit, Thailand’s constitutional court suspended Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha from his official duties on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.

The petition was filed by the largest opposition group, which argued that Prayuth’s time as the leader of a military junta following the coup he orchestrated in 2014 while serving as army chief should be counted toward the eight-year term required by the constitution. The court after considering the petition and related documents stated that the facts from the petition are a reason for questioning as demanded. Prayuth was given 15 days by the court to respond. Prawit Wongsuwan, the deputy prime minister, is anticipated to act as interim president.

 

Officials Declare Jihadist Group to Have Seized Hotel in Somali Capital, At Least 20 People Killed

On the 20th of August 2022, At least 20 people are thought to have died and 40 others were injured in a militant attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, according to reports. Shooters inside the hotel are still being fought by security personnel.

This attack was the largest since Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office as president of Somalia in May following several months of political unrest. After a rise in military operations against Al-Shabaab, it occurs.

“The security forces continued to neutralize terrorists who have been confined inside a room in the hotel building,” said Mohamed Abdikadir, the security commander on the scene. Additionally, he claimed that numerous civilians, including children trapped inside the structure, had been rescued.

 

As China endures its worst heatwave in six decades, factories are being forced to shut down.

China is currently experiencing what appears to be the country’s worst heat wave in 60 years, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The demand for air conditioning in homes and offices has increased as a result of the extreme heat, which puts a lot of strain on the power grid.

In order to alleviate a power shortage brought on by a scorching heat wave that swept across the nation, all factories in the Chinese province of Sichuan were required to close for six days. A Daiwa Capital analyst wrote in a client note that closing factories for the week might reduce the supply of polysilicon and lithium and raise prices. One of the major solar panel and semiconductor manufacturing hubs is in Sichuan. The current situation in China would have an impact on some of the largest electronic companies in the world, such as Apple suppliers Foxconn and Intel.

 

The UK To Be The First To Approve Omicron Covid Shot With Moderna Nod

Monday, 15 August 2022 – Britain has approved a variant-adapted Coronavirus vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron versions of the virus, making it the first country to do so in late 2020. The MHRA made its decision on Moderna based on the results of the clinical trial. According to the data, the booster elicited “a string immune response” against Omicron and the original virus.

 

Fire fighters in Cuba bring the worst fire to a close, after five days

Tuesday, July 9, 2022 – Fire fighters have put out what authorities have dubbed the worst fire in Cuban history, which in five days caused a massive blackout and destroyed 40% of the island’s main fuel storage facility.

Matanzas is the biggest port in Uba. Fuel and crude oil imports are delivered to it. Ten enormous tanks at Matanzas are used primarily to store Cuban heavy crude, fuel, and diesel, which is used to produce electricity on the island. Lightning hit one of the fuel storage tanks. The fire later engulfed the four-tank system after spreading to a second tank. Despite the efforts of more than 100 Mexican and Venezuelan reinforcements as well as local fire fighters, the fire was accompanied by large explosions.

After the Israeli airstrike in Gaza, more than 11 people reported dead.

On August 6, 2022, on a Saturday, As tensions between Israel and Palestinian militant groups continue to rise, the Israeli military launched a deadly attack against a target in Gaza that it claimed to be an Islamic Jihad stronghold.

The Islamic Jihad organization confirmed that Tayseer Al-Jabari, a commander in the Quds Brigade, Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, was one of its senior leaders and was killed in the airstrike.  A 5-year-old girl and a 23-year-old woman were among the at least 11 fatalities, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Injuries to another 75 people were also mentioned. Israel argued that the majority of the fatalities were militants.

Ukraine Reports Serious Nuclear Plant Damage Caused By Russian Rocket

5 August 2022, on Friday, the Ukrainian nuclear agency claimed that Russian rockets damaged a portion of a massive nuclear power plant under Russian control. Although no radiation leak is believed to have occurred. At the Zaporizhzhia plant, a high-voltage power line and a nitrogen-oxygen unit were reported damaged by Enerhoatom.

 

As a result of Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, China sanctions Pelosi and suspends cooperation with the United States

Friday, August 5, 2022 – The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the new countermeasures against Washington, including the suspension of the climate talks following Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Future communications between Chinese and US defence leaders—for which dates have not yet been set—will be cancelled as a result of these measures. Additionally, it will mean that China won’t participate in the yearly naval consultations between China and the US.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan in disregard of China’s serious concerns and firm opposition, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs, undermining China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, trampling on the One-China principle, and seriously threatening the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

North Korea rejects South Korea’s aid offer and disparages President Yoon

Yoon first put forth the idea to trade economic cooperation for the termination of North Korea’s nuclear programme in May during his inauguration speech. South Korea’s offer of financial assistance to North Korea on August 19, 2022, was turned down. They offered denuclearization in return for this. According to state media KCNA on Friday, North Korea claimed the proposal implies President Yoon Suk Yeol is “really simple.”

Yoon’s offer was rejected by Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong Un. She said, “to think that the plan to barter ‘economic cooperation’ for our honor, nukes, is the great dream, hope, and plan of Yoon, and we come to realize that he is really simple.” She also said North Korea would not be sitting face to face with South Korea.

 

Friendship Day

Friendship Day is observed on the first Sunday in August. In the US, it became customary to set aside a day to celebrate friends in 1935. As Friendship Day became more well-known, it is now observed in many nations.

Hiroshima Day

The sixth of August is designated as Hiroshima Day each year. Today marks the detonation of the atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

 

Nagasaki Day

On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second bomb on Japan at Nagasaki. This bomb is also referred to as “Fat Man.” Three days after Hiroshima was attacked with an atomic bomb, it was dropped.

International Youth Day

On August 12, people all over the world observe International Youth Day to raise awareness of how to protect and develop young people in society.

Pakistan’s Independence Day

Every year on August 14, Youm-e-Azadi, or Pakistan Independence Day, is observed. Following the end of British rule in 1947, Pakistan was given its independence and recognised as a sovereign state on this day.

Independence Day of India

India celebrates Independence Day on August 15 of each year. India gained independence from British rule as of this day. It serves as a reminder of a fresh start, the start of a new era free from more than 200 years of British colonialism.

Independence Day of India

Every year on August 17, Indonesia celebrates its independence. The declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945 is commemorated on this day.

World Humanitarian Day

Every year on August 19th, people all over the world observe World Humanitarian Day to honor aid workers who put their lives in danger while providing humanitarian assistance. This day also recognizes the contributions made by women to global crises.

Yorkshire Day

Yorkshire Day is celebrated every year on 1st August. It is the UK’s largest country. This holiday is held in honor of the nation’s history in general and of its most notable citizens in particular.

 

Ukraine: The Black Sea agreement saw the export of more than a million tonnes of grain and food.

On August 1, operations through the Black Sea started. According to Amir Abdulla, the UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, exports of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine have surpassed one million metric tonnes as a result of a historic agreement amid the ongoing conflict. The Joint Coordination Centre’s (JCC) collective efforts and diligent work allowed for this “remarkable achievement”.

 

More than 340,000 people in Chad impacted by unprecedented flooding

According to a report released on Friday by the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, torrential rains have caused unprecedented flooding in Chad that has affected more than 340,000 people living in 55,000 households, exceeding the number of affected people from the previous year of more than 250,000. While record rains over the past month have threatened food security and livelihoods, swollen rivers have destroyed nearly 2,700 hectares of crops and farming land in addition to hundreds of homes.

 

Shelling upon cities close to nuclear plant in Ukraine

Ukrainian officials said on Sunday that Russian rocket and artillery strikes targeted areas across the Dnieper River from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as concerns persisted that fighting nearby could damage the plant and result in a radiation leak.

 

Pak flood death toll surpasses 1,000

According to the latest official data released on Sunday, 29^th August, 119 more people have lost their lives as a result of flood-related incidents across Pakistan in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities from the devastating floods to 1,000. The primary organisation in charge of responding to disasters, the NDMA, reported that 1,033 people have died and 1,527 have been injured throughout Pakistan so far. In addition to 347 fatalities in Sindh, there were 238 in Balochistan, 226 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 168 in Punjab, 38 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, 15 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and one death in Islamabad.

Floods to cost Pakistan’s economy $4 billion

A research report estimates that the unusually heavy monsoon rains and catastrophic flash floods will cost Pakistan’s cash-strapped economy over USD 4 billion in the current fiscal year because the catastrophe has severely harmed agricultural activities in Sindh and Balochistan.

 

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis persists

The poorest, most vulnerable girls and boys are bearing the brunt of Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis, UNICEF has warned, as staple foods have become unaffordable and severe malnutrition is among the highest in the region.

 

Cases of monkeypox decreased by 21%, reversing a month-long rise

According to a World Health Organization report released on Thursday, 26^th August, the number of monkeypox cases reported globally decreased by 21% in the previous week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and possibly signalling the outbreak in Europe may be beginning to subside.

 

In a sedition case, Gill’s attorney tells the Islamabad court that Gill is willing to retract his controversial remarks.

Shahbaz Gill, the embattled PTI leader, is prepared to clarify any misunderstandings and apologise for his controversial comments about the army, his attorney said on Monday in an Islamabad sessions court. After making contentious comments allegedly about the army during an ARY News broadcast, Gill was detained on August 9 and has since been the subject of allegations of torture and sexual assault.

IHC revokes Pemra’s directive prohibiting the live telecast of Imran’s speeches

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) had issued orders prohibiting the live telecast of speeches by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, but the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday, 29^th August suspended those orders. After reviewing an application submitted by the former prime minister today, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah noted that the watchdog had “exceeded its authority” and ordered Pemra to appoint an officer who could defend the ban in court.

The government approves spending Rs2.5 billion for relief in flood-affected areas of KP

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved funds totaling Rs2.5 billion for relief and rehabilitation efforts in the province’s flood-affected areas. The provincial cabinet has given its approval to a summary in this regard. In addition, a letter from the establishment and administration department to the relief and rehabilitation department was sent to ensure that the decision was carried out and to provide a report to that effect.

Catastrophe strikes Swat village second time in 12 years

The recent devastating floods caused havoc throughout the Swat district, but for the people of Drab Shahgram village, it was the second disaster to strike them in as little as 12 years after the floods of July 2010 also destroyed their homes, crops, and orchards. The residents of Drab Shahgram village were suddenly struck by the memory of the tragic 2020 flood on August 25, when unprecedented rains and floods struck Swat.

Quetta is cut off as a crucial rail bridge gives way

While roads that were washed away by flooding have yet to be repaired, Balochistan’s railway connection has also been suspended indefinitely after a significant bridge collapsed due to heavy rains and flooding near Mach area in Bolan district, according to Pakistan Railways (PR) officials on Thursday.

In the interbank market, the PKR declines by Rs1.26

On Monday, the PKR was still under pressure and fell 1.26 rupees against the dollar in the interbank market. According to information provided by the State Bank of Pakistan, the rupee closed at Rs221.92 per dollar, down 0.57 percent.

The contentious dissolution

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority was deemed “redundant” and “obstructive” by the Sharif government, which made the decision in principle to abolish it during the third week of the current month. In order to revive the largest and most prestigious bilateral economic development project in the nation, it has decided to go back to the previous arrangement that routed CPEC projects through the planning ministry to line ministries for execution.

 

By December, the railway to have 46 Chinese passenger coaches.

Of the 230 coaches ordered from China, 46 will be delivered to Pakistan Railways (PR) in December. The coaches will be able to travel at the train’s 160 km/h maximum speed. According to Dawn on Sunday, PR teams are in China to inspect the coaches and contemporary high-capacity waggons (goods / freight waggons) prototypes and to receive training on the manufacture of such rolling stock.

 

SEPTEMBER 2022

 

1 September 2022

• The International Monetary Fund provisionally approves a US$2.9 billion bailout for Sri Lanka.

2 September 2022

• Eighteen people are killed and 23 others are injured by a suicide bombing at a Sunni mosque in Herat, Afghanistan. The mosque’s pro-Taliban imam, who is suspected to be the target of the attack, is among the dead.

3 September 2022

• An estimated 70,000 people march in the Czech Republic’s capital city Prague demanding that the government do more to control soaring energy prices in the country and voicing opposition to the country’s involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian War. The demonstration was organized by political groups including the Communist Party.

4 September 2022

• By a margin of 62% to 38%, Chileans vote to reject the new proposed constitution drafted by the Constitutional Convention.

 

 

5 September 2022

• Five Pakistani soldiers and four Pakistani Taliban militants are killed during a gunfight in North Waziristan.
• Russia’s Gazprom announces that gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline to Europe will not resume until sanctions against Russia are lifted.
• Liz Truss is elected Leader of the Conservative Party and will succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September.

6 September 2022

• Ten people are killed in South Korea by Typhoon Hinnamnor. Seven of the victims died in a flooded underground car park. In addition, 2,900 people are evacuated and 66,000 homes are damaged.
• India approves a nasal COVID-19 vaccine to combat COVID-19, becoming the second country to do so after China.

7 September 2022

• Amid a renewed counter-offensive in the region, Ukrainian forces reportedly break through Russian defenses and advance more than 30 kilometers into Russian held territory in the Kharkiv Oblast, capturing many towns and cities including Balakliia.
• The government of Albania suspends diplomatic relations with Iran after a major cyberattack allegedly occurs. Iranian diplomats and embassy staff are told to leave Albania within 24 hours.

 

8 September 2022

• Former White House Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President of the United States Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to state charges in New York for allegedly defrauding donors to build a wall on the U.S. southern border.
• Buckingham Palace announces that Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She is succeeded as monarch by her son Charles III.

9 September 2022

• North Korea passes a new law formally declaring itself a “nuclear state”. The law includes the right of North Korea to use “preemptive” nuclear strikes as Kim Jong-un promises to “never give up” the country’s nuclear weapons.

10 September 2022

• Russia launches missile strikes with Kalibr cruise missiles on critical infrastructure objects, including Kharkiv TEC-5, causing a total blackout and water shutdown in Northeastern Ukraine and the Kharkiv and Donetsk Oblasts. Ukrainian officials confirm at least 40 electrical substations have been destroyed in the wave of missile strikes.

11 September 2022

• The James Webb Space Telescope reveals its first photos of the Orion Nebula, which is located in the Orion constellation.

 

13 September 2022

• A roadside bombing in Swat District, Pakistan, kills eight people, including a local tribal leader known for his opposition to the Pakistani Taliban.
• Taliban authorities say that they have killed 40 National Resistance Front fighters in the Panjshir Province of Afghanistan, including four commanders.
• Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agrees to change the name of Kazakhstan’s capital from “Nur-Sultan” back to “Astana”. He had previously changed the capital’s name in 2019 to honor his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev.

14 September 2022

• The British supermarket chain Iceland launches an appeal to the EUIPO against the country of Iceland in a 20-year-long legal process over the use and trademark of the name “Iceland”.

15 September 2022

• Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, changes its consensus mechanism from proof of work to proof of stake, ceasing all mining and reducing its energy consumption by over 99.9%

16 September 2022

• The Phantom of the Opera, currently the longest-running show in Broadway history, announces that it will end production in February 2023, stating that a decline in attendance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has made it unable to recoup the weekly costs of running the show.
• American computer hardware company EVGA terminates its partnership with fellow hardware manufacturer Nvidia and withdraws completely from the graphics card market, alleging that the latter forced them to sell their cards at a loss and would refuse to disclose important information, such as sales numbers.

17 September 2022

• Poland opens the Vistula Spit canal connecting the Vistula Lagoon and Gdańsk Bay after three years of construction.

18 September 2022

• The death toll from the fighting between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which began four days ago, increases to 94. Fifty-nine of the people were killed in Kyrgyzstan, and the 35 others were killed in Tajikistan. Another 139 people are injured.
• Ukraine withdraws its 250 troops from the United Nations peacekeeping force MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A Ukrainian Air Force aviation unit also withdraws its eight helicopters from the mission, which made up a third of the UN’s fleet.
• Thousands of people march in Istanbul, Turkey, to demand legislation against LGBT organizations and their activities.

19 September 2022

• The state funeral of Elizabeth II is held in London, United Kingdom.
• Equatorial Guinea abolishes the death penalty after its president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo signs a new penal code into law.
• Irish judge Síofra O’Leary is elected the new president of European Court of Human Rights, becoming the first woman to hold that position.

20 September 2022

• Nine people have died of diarrhea, malaria and gastroenteritis during the last 24 hours in Sindh Province, Pakistan, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll from flooding to more than 1,600 people.
• Protests continue for the fourth consecutive day across Iran in response to the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police. Two people are killed during protests in Kermanshah.

 

21 September 2022

• Two Ukrainian staffers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe are sentenced to 13 years of prison by a court in the separatist Luhansk People’s Republic for “alleged high treason and espionage for the United States”.

22 September 2022

• Large numbers of fighting-age men leave Russia after the announcement of the mobilization. Long traffic jams occur at international border crossings and the price of tickets for international flights sharply increases.
• At least 71 people are killed when a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon capsizes off Syria’s coast.
• China’s former justice minister Fu Zhenghua is sentenced to death with reprieve, which means his sentence will be life in prison without the possibility of parole, after pleading guilty to accepting bribes.

23 September 2022

• Bhutan reopens its borders for international tourists following a two-year closure due to the pandemic.
• Sanctions are imposed on seven Iranian government officials and one group by the United States Department of the Treasury, which blames the Guidance Patrol for the death of Mahsa Amini.
• Referendums begin in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk on whether to join Russia, in what Ukraine and other countries consider to be “sham” referendums.

24 September 2022

• Elon Musk says that Starlink will be enabled inside Iranian cities after the United States State and Treasury Departments announce measures to increase internet freedom and access to information in the country.
• Thousands of people protest in Luanda, Angola, accusing incumbent president João Lourenço of electoral fraud in the latest election.

25 September 2022

• Uzbekistan suspends the use of Russia’s card payment system Mir. The move was supposedly warranted by the need “to carry out the necessary technical procedures” and was not related to sanctions.
• Exit polls show that the centre-right coalition led by Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni has won the election with a majority of seats in the Italian Parliament.
• The Swiss go to the polls to decide four ballot questions. The voters agree to raise the retirement age for women to 65 and to increase the value added tax rates from 7.7% to 8.1%. However, voters rejected the proposal to exempt domestic bonds from taxation and to ban intensive animal farming.

26 September 2022

• Inter-American Development Bank chief Mauricio Claver-Carone is fired by the bank’s board of governors after an external investigation, started because of a whistleblower complaint, found that Claver-Carone had an undisclosed intimate relationship with his subordinate and committed several ethics violations in connection with her.
• Six Pakistani military personnel are killed in a helicopter crash in Balochistan, Pakistan.
• The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Syria increases to 29, with a total of 338 cases reported, the majority of whom are in Aleppo Governorate.
• A man kills 17 people and injures 24 others in a mass shooting at a school in Izhevsk, Russia, before killing himself.
• A referendum is approved in Cuba, granting, among other things, broader rights for the LGBT community, including marriage.

27 September 2022

• Kazakhstan says that around 98,000 Russian civilians have entered the country by land and air since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a military mobilization.
• Three separate spills are detected in the Baltic Sea following explosions in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in what appear to be acts of sabotage.
• Leaders from Poland, Norway and Denmark hold a ceremony to open the Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline that will transport natural gas from the Norwegian shelf via Denmark to Poland.

28 September 2022

• Thirteen people are killed and 58 others are injured as Iran launches missiles and drones upon the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan’s offices in Koye, Kurdistan Region, and Iraq. Iran accused the group of being involved in the ongoing protests in the country.
• One person is killed and two others are injured when a gunman opens fire against Chinese-Pakistani nationals at a dental clinic in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. All of the victims were in their 70s and had worked for the clinic for more than 40 years.
• The Bank of England buys 65 billion pounds of bonds in a bid to stabilise the UK economy.

29 September 2022

• Swedish authorities report a fourth gas leak from the Nord Stream pipelines.
• The Supreme Court of India strikes down a portion of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act that forbade unmarried women from having an abortion, thus legalising the procedure for all women until the 24th week of pregnancy. The ruling also notes that forcing a woman to carry the child could constitute marital rape, which is not, however, recognised as an offence in India.

30 September 2022

• Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirms that the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense was hacked and that leaked data included information about the president’s health issues and other national security issues.
• Russian president Vladimir Putin signs accession treaties to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia. However, the accession treaties must be ratified by both houses of the Russian parliament before becoming effective under Russian law.

 

 

OCTOBER 2022

1^st October

Magistrate of Islamabad’s Margalla Police has issued an arrest warrant for PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The registered First Information Report (FIR) incorporates four sections of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) including 504, 506, 188 and 189. The arrest warrant was issued for the case filed against Khan on August 20 for threatening state institutions and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhary.

 

2^nd October

At least 174 people are reported to have died after a crush at a game on Saturday in Indonesia between Arema FC and rivals Persebaya Surabaya. Police reportedly tear-gassed some supporters after Arema FC were beaten 3-2 by Peresebaya Surabaya in East Java. The government of Pakistan under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to probe into the cipher sent to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, releasing the cipher number and origin in the secretive document.

 

3^rd October

Colonial Israeli settlers hold a music festival inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in an open violation of the sanctity of the mosque.

 

4^th October

Nuclear-armed North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile further than ever before on Tuesday, sending it soaring over Japan, for the first time in five years, and prompting a warning for residents there to take cover.
It was the first North Korean missile to follow such a trajectory since 2017, and its estimated 4,600 km (2,850 mile) range was the longest travelled by a North Korean test missile, which are usually “lofted” high into space to avoid flying over neighbouring countries.

 

China wants to import donkeys and dogs from Pakistan. Officials of the Ministry of Commerce told the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce that China is interested in buying donkeys and dogs from Pakistan.
During the briefing, officials maintained that China is a big market for exporting meat. Committee member Dinesh Kumar said that China is asking Pakistan to export donkeys as well as dogs.

 

Gilgil Baltistan Food Minister, Shams Lone, tried to stop Women’s Sports Gala in Gilgit Baltistan calling it ‘against religion and culture’. “The sporting event that will be held in Gilgit Baltistan under the name of the Women’s Sports Gala is in no way acceptable to our culture, Islam, and ideals of the outside world. I am a government official who will work hard to put an end to it,” says the Minister.

 

5^th October

India is surely not happy after US envoy to Pakistan, Donald Blome visited Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on October 5 and called it Azad Jammu Kashmir.

Indian media got triggered when the US representative referred to the occupied territory as AJK.
“United States’ doublespeak on Kashmir has once again come into limelight,” stated the Hindustan Times. The statement clearly depicts Indian frustration.

According to the official statement of the US embassy, the ambassador paid a visit to “promote the US-Pakistan partnership and highlight the two countries’ deep economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties.”

 

6^th October

Chinese mobile giant Xiaomi may move it’s operations to Pakistan after the Indian government froze its assets worth $767 million.

The tech giant has “almost halted” its operation in India after the Indian government’s measures, generated by political differences between the two countries.

7th October

Imran khan audio leaked talking over horse trading and buying members in parliament

8^th October

Imaan Mazari claims ‘Custodial torture by SHO at G-9 Islamabad Police Station.
SHO was treating a child inhumanely at the police station. Mazari heard the child screaming and she head over to the SHO office immediately.

9^th October

Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced that mahram is no longer required to accompany a woman pilgrim. Now women can travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj or Umrah from any part of the world without mahram, the minister said during the press conference at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo.

10^th October

On Monday, the contingent of the Pakistan Army left for Qatar to provide security to the upcoming FIFA WC22, which is scheduled from November 21 to December 18. The contingent consists of officers, junior commissioned officers and jawans.

 

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) announced on Monday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be the vice-chairperson for its 27th session.

Egyptian President and COP27 Chairperson Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi invited the Pakistani premier to co-chair the COP-27 roundtable conference along with the prime minister of Norway. The conference will be held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6-8.

Pakistan received the honour from among the 195 countries of the UN due to the active voice raised by PM Shehbaz at global and regional forums about the climate crisis and the necessity of action.

 

11^th October

Special Assistance to Prime Minister Sardar Shahjehan Yusuf disclosed the approval of two long-awaited projects for Mansehra on Monday, October 11, 2022.

According to the reports, an appropriate building has been specified for the district’s first-ever women’s university. Regular classes will be conducted from the upcoming session onwards.

The district will also get the much-awaited ‘gravity flow water supply scheme’ for which the Saudi and Pakistani governments had already finalized the modalities.

 

DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar is among the 12 Major Generals promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General on October 11. ISPR announced the promotions to the three-star rank.

 

12^th October

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz have been acquitted in a Rs 16 billion money laundering case.

The verdict was pronounced by special court judge of Lahore Ijaz Hassan Awan today.
The FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) told the court that no direct transaction had been made in the bank accounts of PM Shehbaz and his son Hamza from unknown accounts.

13^th October

On October 13, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister declared OPEC+’s decision of cutting down oil production by two million barrels per day a “purely economic” move taken after a joint consensus.

Days after the announcement by OPEC+, US President Joe Biden termed it a political move and vowed adverse consequences for US-Saudi relations. Following Biden’s statement, Saudi Arabia clarified that the production cut was decided to serve the interests of both producers and consumers.

Experts observe the ties between two entering red zone after Saudi Arabia took a firm stance against the US perspective.

 

PTI senator Azam Khan Swati was arrested for Tweeting against COAS Bajwa.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the FIA, the Tweet rendered a “highly obnoxious and intimidating message.”

 

Switzerland imposes $1000 fine on burqa ban violators.

The Swiss government sent a draft law to parliament seeking to fine people who violate a national ban on face coverings up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,005) as it seeks to implement a “burqa ban” law.

Proponents of the ban had called facial coverings a symbol of extreme, political Islam. Muslim groups condemned the vote as discrimination and vowed legal challenges.

Muslims make up around five percent of the Swiss population, most with roots in Turkey, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

14^th October

Following the Nord Stream pipeline damage, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting in Kazakhstan, stated that Turkey is the best route to supply Russian gas to Europe, therefore new pipelines in Turkey will be built up to make it the “largest gas hub” of the world.

The plan aims at lowering the sky-rocketing gas prices around the globe. According to Putin, the hub will be a “platform not only for supplies but also for determining the price because this is a very important issue”.

 

Punjab Government has made it mandatory to declare the finality of the Prophet (PBUH) in the marriage deeds (nikkah nammah), making an official announcement on October 14.

In October last year, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution demanding the inclusion of the oath of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (seal of the prophets) in the marriage certificate form to discourage marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims (Ahmadis) by trick.

The resolution was jointly presented by the provincial assembly members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

 

15^th October

Pakistan to summon US ambassador and send demarche over President Joe Biden’s remarks about Pakistan’s nuclear program.

 

A well-known news channel has claimed that the Pakistan Armed Forces run Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Islamabad – Rawalpindi, has circulated a notice to a resident to remove ‘the PTI flag’ from their residence.
The notice in circulation mentions ‘flags and banners which show religious or political affiliation are not allowed’ and doesn’t name any specific political party.

However, according to a report published by a private news channel, residents in DHA with PTI flags have been targeted. In contrast, other residents have flags from different political parties hoisted at their residences without any constraints, the channel claims.

According to the channel, the housing authority run by the military is trying to create a further divide in an already polarised society by ‘targeting PTI supporters’.

 

16^th October

Cologne Central Mosque, the largest mosque in Germany, broadcasted the first-ever Muslim call to prayer on Friday.

Former prime minister Imran Khan won 6 national assembly seats in by-elections on Sunday, setting a new record in the electoral history of Pakistan. Khan contested seven of eight seats and has won six.

 

17^th October

Netflix documentary featuring Sharif’s family corruption to be released soon.

Netflix is going to release an explosive documentary named “Behind Close Doors”. The documentary revolves around mega corruption scandals which also include Pakistan’s Sharif family.

18^th October

A military plane crashes into a residential building in Yeysk, Russia. According to sources, four people were killed and nineteen were injured in the incident. The aircraft was identified as a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet.

 

Real Madrid star player Karim Benzema wins the 2022 Ballon d’Or best player award for the first time.

 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Sharukh Jataoi and all accomplices in the Shahzeb Khan Murder case. The case was heard by a three member bench of judges headed by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan. However, it was mentioned before the hearing that both the parties have already reached an agreement.

Background: 20 year old Shahzeb Khan, the only son of a police deputy superintendent, was gunned down by Sharukh Jatoi in December 2012.

19^th October

UK police plan to use tuk-tuks to fight against crime.

According to Gwent Police, the tuk-tuks will be used as “safe spaces”. The officers will use tuk-tuks to patrol parks, walkways, and other public spaces the whole day to fight against crime.

For the initiative of tuk-tuks, Mahindra Electric is a partner of the Gwent Police.

20^th October

British PM Liz Truss resigns amid turmoil. Truss is the shortest-serving prime minister ever in UK history.

“I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party”, Liz Truss said.

21^st October

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Tosha Khana case. Imran Khan is found guilty of corrupt practices, says Election Commission Bench decision.
The Election Commission has also ordered to register a criminal case against Chairman PTI Imran Khan.
Note: Imran Khan disqualified only for the term of current assembly.

Pakistan exits FATF grey list after 4 years, all credits to legislations done under Khan’s tenure.

22^nd October

Prime Minister Shehbaz has commended the role of foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto and COAS General Bajwa for making Pakistan exit the grey list of FATF.

23^rd October

China’s most powerful leader consolidates his hold on presidency due to be announced in March next year.

Communist Party elected Xi as its general secretary for another five-year term on Sunday.

Xi abolished the two-term limit on presidency in 2018.

India beat Pakistan in the World Cup opener in a match that stuck to the last ball.

India wins by four wickets.

 

24^th October

Senior journalist Arshad Sharif died in Kenya from a sniper shot.

Geo News London bureau chief Murtaza Ali Shah said, “Arshad Sharif has been living near London since leaving Pakistan a few weeks back. I spoke to him last week, and he talked excitedly about Pakistan, politics and media.” Arshad Sharif was suspended from ARY News for speaking against state institutions, which many rendered as ‘fearless journalism’.
The journalist had flown to Dubai after resigning from the channel. He was spotted in London a few days back after arriving from Dubai.

 

Rishi Sunak has secured public declarations of more than half of Conservative MPs ahead of today’s 2pm deadline for nominations.

According to the Guardian’s count of public endorsements, as of 11.30am (UK time) Rishi Sunak had the backing of 182 MPs, equivalent to 51% of the total number of Conservatives with seats in parliament.

 

Giorgia Meloni becomes Italy’s first-ever female prime minister.

Meloni said that her administration would be pro-NATO and pro-European. “Anyone who does not agree with this cornerstone cannot be part of the government,” she added.

25^th October

Former prime minister Imran Khan to begin his much anticipated long March against the federal government on Friday.

26^th October

ISI official excluded from the team investigating Sharif’s murder.

The Interior Ministry removed a member of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) on Wednesday from the list of individuals who will be a part of the investigation team that will gather information from the Kenyan Police and relevant authorities about the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif. After releasing an initial notification with the names of three members of the high-profile team, the ministry then revised it and omitted ISI Lt Col Saad Ahmed’s name. The two-member team includes Director/DIG Police, FIA Athar Waheed and Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Omar Shahid Hamid.

27^th October

Paracetamol production starts after cut down. On Wednesday, Finance minister Ishaq Dar had a meeting with heads of pharmaceutical companies. Upon discussion on the retail price, companies had agreed upon the prices with the ministry. The pharmaceutical industry has agreed upon the price of paracetamol 500mg at 2.35, paracetamol extra 500 mg at Rs. 2.75 and syrup at Rs. 117.6, which is almost half of the price increase demanded by them.

PTI has suspended Faisal Vawda after his controversial press conference in which he anticipated bloodshed during Haqeeqi Azadi Long March.

28^th October

FIA arrests senior journalist Ch. Ghulam Hussain.

ARY news senior anchorperson was arrested      from Gloria Jeans, Lahore for a 12 year old case.

“My father was sitting in a coffee shop with friends when an FIA team comprising 30 to 40 officers came and took him into custody, probably in an old case,” Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain’s son.

According to reports, PTI MPA Khurram Laghari resigns before long march, five more to resign soon.

29^th October

Pemra has banned live coverage of PTI Haqeeqi AZADI Long March.

30^th October

Punjab anti-corruption arrests former deputy speaker of Punjab Assembly Dost Mazari.

On Saturday, he has been arrested from the hospital. He had come to the hospital to visit his grandfather former caretaker prime minister Balkh Sher Mazari.

According to the sources, he has been arrested in a case related to 40,000 acres of land grabbing case.

31^st October

Channel 5 news reporter Sadaf Naeem dies under Khan’s container.

On Sunday, Channel 5 reporter slipped and crushed under Khan’s container. The long march was near Sadhuki when this sad incident happened.

She has fallen off the staircase and then crushed under the wheels of the container.

 

NOVEMBER 2022

1^st November 2022

• PM Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan, Maulana Tariq Jameel, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, Sirajul Haq, Malala Yousafzai, as well as ARY Digital Network President & CEO Salman Iqbal have been named among top 500 influential Muslims of 2023.
• Elon Musk fires Twitter’s entire board of directors and said he will serve as chief executive of Twitter, the social media company he just bought for $44 billion.

 

2^nd November 2022

• Pakistan to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $112 million.
• While addressing the public in Rahwali on Wednesday, former PM Imran Khan said that one thief (Nawaz Sharif) ran away from Pakistan and another one became the prime minister of the country.
  Khan also pointed out a corruption case of Rs16 billion against incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif under FIA, witnesses of which were ‘murdered’ to keep the truth hidden.

 

3^rd November 2022

• Bolsonaro’s supporters gathered in more than 75 cities of Brazil to protest against the election results. Brazilians are demanding military forces to arrest the newly elected president for rigging elections.
  The present scenario in Brazil is growing by hours as Brazilians have gathered outside the military headquarter asking to intervene in current situation.
• PTI chairman is attacked by a gunman. Imran khan is shifted to the hospital and is out of danger now. Faisal Javed, Ahmed Chatha and Imran Ismail are also injured in the incident.

 

4^th November 2022

• PTI to hold nationwide protests even after the injured Imran Khan.
• Addressing the worker’s conference today, Khawaja Asif made bold statements against Khan.
  Asif said that Imran Khan was voracious to go back to the Prime House and live grandly there.
  The only reason behind this march is that Khan wants to appoint the army chief of his choosing, Asif added, while criticising Khan without condemning the ‘assassination attempt’.
• Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah shuns down Imran Khan’s claim of receiving four bullets in the leg, alleging the PTI Chairman of forgery.

 

5^th November 2022

• The chairman of PTI’s “baseless and irresponsible claims against the institution and notably a senior army officer are utterly unacceptable and uncalled for,” according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press statement.
• Hollywood star Amber Heard’s Twitter handle disappeared a few days after her ex bought Twitter for a $44 billion deal.
• Fans quickly noticed and believed the ex was behind her account’s disappearance.
  Since taking over, Musk has made some bold moves; including firing the board of directors and easing the verification process to only $8 a month for everyone.
• Asad Umar denounced DG ISPR’s remarks that ‘Imran Khan made baseless criticism against the institution.’
  The General Secretary of PTI said, “Any attempt to equate criticism of individuals with criticism of institution is rejected.”

 

6^th November 2022

• IG Punjab has resigned on Monday morning citing personal circumstances.
  The development came a day after the police chief received criticism from PTI members, including former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
• In the wake of COP27 occurring in Egypt, let’s take a look at the temperature warnings given by scientists for the South Asian region.
• Global warming scientists have long warned that heat levels in South Asia, home to some 1.5 billion people, could reach uninhabitable tiers by 2100.
  India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would be the worst affected regions.
  If climate change continues at its current pace, deadly heatwaves could make large parts of South Asia too hot for human survival by the end of the century, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) warned in a study.

 

7^th November 2022

• Supreme Court instructed Inspector General of Punjab Police Faisal Shahkar to register an FIR on the assassination attempt on Imran Khan within 24 hours.
• Register FIR within 24 hours or else we will take suo motu notice,” said Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial. IG also revealed that the provisional government is not allowing him to register FIR on this case.
• The new owner of twitter Elon Musk has ordered to fire more than 200 employees in India. The entire marketing and communications department of Twitter in India has been dismissed. Yet there is no translucency on the package to be reimbursed to employees laid off in the country.
  Twitter is going to temporarily close all offices for the protection of employees, company’s systems and customer data.
  The company is reportedly sacking 3,738 employees out of its gross headcount of 7,500 across the globe.

 

8^th November 2022

• Mustafa Nawaz Khokar has resigned from the senate and will submit his formal resignation tomorrow.
• Khokar denounced the security agencies for ‘installing clandestine devices’ and supported his fellow senator Azam Swati in a personal video case.
• PPP’s leadership was reportedly unhappy with Khokar supporting his colleague belonging to the rival political party forming grounds for his resignation.

 

9^th November 2022

• The man threw eggs at King Charles and Queen during a traditional ceremony in northern England.
  Eggs missed the King and police detained that man on the spot.
• Arshad Sharif case took a new turn when Postmortem report revealed that he was subjected to torture for 3 hours before he was killed.

 

11^th November 2022

• Interior minister Rana Sanaullah has been hospitalised due to heartache.

 

12^th November 2022

• According to South Asia Index, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was never scheduled to visit Pakistan in November, said Saudi authorities.
• Earlier, Pakistani authorities claimed that MBS would visit Pakistan on November 21. Amid his cancellation and the Saudi authority’s claim that MBS was not scheduled to visit Pakistan, the government of Pakistan has not released any comment as of yet.
• Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Office has announced that MBS may visit India soon.

 

13^th November 2022

• T-20 Updates: England came out as the superior side against Pakistan, chasing 138 in the final match of the t20 WorldCup.
• England finishes the game in 19 overs with 5 wickets remaining to become the new T20 champions.
• A blast has been reported in Istanbul, Turkiye. 5 dead and 35 injured
• United States: During an Air Show, two planes collided at Dallas Executive Airport on Saturday.
• Officials confirm that six people were killed in the mid-air collision between two historic planes.

 

14^th November 2022

• “We know the message given to us through the Istanbul attack. We also know who coordinated this attack. We have rejected US condolences about it.” – Turkiye Interior Minister.
• President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often accuses Washington of supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, deemed as “terrorists” by Ankara. This group carried out the blast attack in Istanbul a day ago.

 

15^th November 2022

• The United Kingdom has officially removed Pakistan from the ‘High Risk Third Countries’ list. “Some good news. The United Kingdom has officially removed Pakistan from its list of ‘High Risk Third Countries’ following our early completion of FATF action plans,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted.
• On April 2021, the UK government included Pakistan in the high-risk third countries list because of money laundering and terrorist financing.
• In a defamation case filed against Daily Mail, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son-in-law Imran Ali Yousaf were required to respond.
• The UK High Court judge also ordered him to pay the defendant 30,000 pounds in costs.
• Russia has launched a new wave of missiles across Ukraine.
• The strikes have targeted Kyiv, Kyiv region, Kharkiv city, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Cherkasy, Odesa, and areas of Chernihiv.
• The attacks came shortly after Russia’s representative to the G20 summit in Bali, the foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused western countries of trying to politicise the end-of-summit declaration by circulating a draft that said: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy.”

 

16^th November 2022

• PTI Chairman Imran Khan took notice and decided to sue Geo News, Shahzeb Khanzada and people involved in this from Pakistan, UK and UAE.
• Earlier, the buyer of Tosha Khana’s gifts appeared in Shahzeb Khanzada’s show on Geo Mews. He revealed that he bought the watch worth $2 million.
• China’s president Xi Jinping had a heated conversation or Sam many call “scolded” Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau for leaking their discussion to the media at G20 Summit in Bali.

 

17^th November 2022

• The decision by Mr. Trump comes as some Republican Party members hold him responsible for the underwhelming showing of their party in last week’s midterm elections.
• President Joe Biden, who dethroned Donald Trump two years ago, has hinted that he would fight for reelection in 2024.
• “In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump said, minutes after filing the official paperwork for his third presidential run.
• On Thursday, Kenya Human Rights Commission claimed that Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was killed in a planned murder.
• KHRC’s Martin Mavenjina in an interview with Geo News told that “murder was clearly planned and executed” and “it simply shows that he was surveilled over a good period of time. The question is how did the security agencies know he was in that specific locality at that time”.

 

18^th November 2022

• Twitter closed its offices till Monday because hundreds of employees resigned.
• Employees resigned over Elon Musk’s new hardcore work policies. He had asked the staff for intense long work hours or to lose their jobs. They opted for the latter option and it results in mass resignation.
• Although, the resignation ratio was unexpected. Twitter offices had been closed because of the confusion that which employees should have access to remote work.
• Alcohol will not be sold at the World Cup’s eight stadiums in Qatar after Fifa changed its policy two days before the start of the tournament.
• Those in corporate areas of stadiums at the tournament will still be able to purchase alcohol.

 

19^th November 2022

• The country’s default risk as measured by five-year credit-default swaps (CDS) soared up to 75% this week, according to data provided by Arif Habib Ltd. Primary reasons behind this spike are political uncertainty and delayed negotiations with IMF.

 

20^th November 2022

• Qatar is not leaving any stone unturned to promote Islam in this Fifa World Cup by banning alcohol, banning LGBTQ bands, inviting Hafiz-e- Quran and Zakir Naik, and featuring barcodes where FIFA fans can learn Islam for free.

 

21^st November 2022

• A 5.6 magnitude earthquake has hit Indonesia, killing 46 and injuring 700.
• Cristiano Ronaldo became the first person in history to hit 500M followers on Instagram.
  Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most popular and successful athletes worldwide.
  Earlier, after hitting 237 Million followers in September 2021, Ronaldo’s Instagram account became the most-followed one in the world.
• In the wake of murder accusations against him, Nawaz Sharif decided to travel to Europe with his daughter Maryam Nawaz and other family members.

 

22^nd November 2022

• Khurram Nisar reportedly the son of a former deputy commissioner gunned down a policeman in DHA phase 5, Karachi.
• Investigative journalist Ahmad Norani has authored an investigative report, penning the tale of Bajwa’s family’s journey to becoming billionaires in just six years.
• FBR records show that the General’s wife was warned multiple times for concealing assets, Fact Focus will release the details of these records in a follow-up report.
• The General’s family started an oil business in 2018, Taxx Pakistan, headquartered in Dubai and expanded all over Pakistan within a few months.
• Despite many efforts over the last three years, Fact Focus was unable to obtain data about assets in the name of the General’s two sons.”
• Saudi Arab had beaten Argentina by 2-1. This had been a major upset for Argentina as they arrived Qatar with 36 unbeaten match streaks. They were about to break the record of Italy, but Arabs stunned everyone.
• Pakistan Navy warship, PNS Tabuk had arrived at Qatar port to coordinate maritime security with their government.
• “PNS Tabuk’s assistance in maritime security is an expression of confidence in the professionalism of Pakistan Navy,” a Pakistan Navy spokesperson said in a statement.
  Earlier, the head of Military Intelligence said Iran was pondering an attack on the World Cup in Qatar as it faces increasing pressure at home amid nationwide anti-regime protests.

 

23^rd November 2022

• Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said the Indian Army is ready to execute orders like seizing Azad Kashmir.
• “As far as the Indian Army is concerned, it will carry out any order given by the Government of India. Whenever such orders are given, we will always be ready for it,” said Dwivedi.
• In his last speech as COAS, Gen Bajwa criticised Imran Khan for creating fake narrative against military.
• “We had several tactics to counter fake narrative but with patience we stayed quiet,” he said.
• Political parties have the right to criticise the military, but words must be chosen wisely.
• The Azerbaijani government has issued a notification that grants rice imports tariff exemption for a period of five years.
• Azerbaijan will buy more rice from Pakistan, and it has informed Pakistan of this decision.

 

24^th November 2022

• Prime Minister of Pakistan appointed Lt. General Asim Munir as the new chief of army staff by using his constitutional right. And Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad, as Chairman Joint Chief of Staff’s Committee.
• Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced the appointment of the new COAS and CJCS on Twitter.
• President Arif Alvi signed the summary for appointment of new COAS Asim Munir.

25^th November 2022

• A record 519 people tested positive for HIV between January and October in Islamabad. Most positive cases were homosexual men, and the other majority was transgender people due to unsafe sex practices.
• As per reports, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed is expected to seek premature retirement following the appointment of Lt. Gen. Asim Munir as Chief of Army Staff on November 24, 2022.

26^th November 2022

• Sahir Shamshad called all his school teachers after becoming CJSC and gave credit to them. He said that our teachers not only taught us but also groomed us. “We are indebted to you, we are grateful to you,” he added.
• Downloading Google and other international apps will only be possible for Pakistanis by paying off through debit and credit cards from December onwards. Payment of $34 million on an annual basis had been stuck due to the suspension of Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) by the State Bank of Pakistan. Mobile companies pay this amount to their International service providers, i.e. Meta, Google, Amazon etc., annually.
• Information ministry, PTA and four other cellular mobile operators had written a joint letter to SBP requesting to revise their decision.
• Speaking at the long march in Rawalpindi Imran Khan has announced to dissolve Punjab and KP assemblies, date will be given later.
• “We won’t be a part of this corrupt system,” he remarked.

27^th November 2022

• Azam Swati was arrested on Sunday for the second time over a controversial tweets case. The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing arrested Azam Swati for talking against the army chief and other senior military officers. The PTI leader was arrested from his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, Islamabad.

29^th November 2022

• Retirement submitted by Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed got accepted without any delay. The development came in after the appointment of Lt. Gen. Asim Munir as Chief of Army Staff on November 25. Gen. Faiz was to complete his term on April 30, 2023. Premature retirement of senior Generals is a common practice following the COAS is appointment.
• The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar, has departed for a day-long visit to Kabul, making her the first female diplomat to publicly interact with the Taliban administration since the new government seized power in Afghanistan.
• On Nov 29, 2022, General Asim Munir becomes Pakistan’s 17th army chief. General Qamar Javed Bajwa passed the baton to General Syed Asim Munir. Bajwa completed his six years of military leadership tenure. The change of command ceremony of the Pakistan Army took place at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi today.
• Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended the indefinite ceasefire with the Pakistan government that was agreed upon in June. The militants have ordered its fighters to “launch attacks across the country.” The announcement came after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that a high-level delegation would be sent to Kabul. The delegation would be headed by Hina Rabbani Khar. Additionally, the banned group has taken this crucial step when a change in top army officials was taking place. The TTP claimed that as the intelligence and army agencies are still attacking the “mujahideen” they must retaliate as well. The group has been facing an increased number of attacks by the Pakistan army, especially in the Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Moreover, the cessation of hostilities was a result of peace talks in which the Taliban-led Afghanistan government played a significant role. There was a frequent violation with little development taking place.
• Pakistan received $ 500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, says the finance ministry. The money will increase foreign exchange reserves, the finance ministry added.

 

30^th November 2022

• World’s largest active volcano in Hawaii, Mauna Loa, erupted for the first time in 38 long years. The situation is currently under control but the US Geological Service (USGS) has issued a warning, asking the residents to displace at their earliest as the situation might change at any time.
• A bomb blast has hit a religious school in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 16, including students and wounding 24, a Taliban official told the media

December 2022

December 1, 2022

• Two Al-Quds Brigades leaders are killed and another person is injured by Israeli soldiers during a raid at a refugee camp in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. (Al Jazeera)
• The Spanish Ministry of the Interior reports that several letter bombs have been sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Ministry of Defence and the Torrejón Air Base. A sixth letter bomb is intercepted at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid.

December 2, 2022

• The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom adds Cuba, Nicaragua, and the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group to its blacklist of countries and organizations violating international religious freedom, signalling possible sanctions by the U.S. government.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a decree that bans religious organizations with links to Russia and imposes personal sanctions against their representatives. Zelenskyy also announces that the Ukrainian government will draft a law banning churches affiliated with Russia, which he says is necessary in order to counter Russian government efforts to “weaken Ukraine from within.”

December 3, 2022

• The Iranian government gives its first official report regarding deaths from the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in September. The report states that more than 200 people have died in what the government has labelled as “riots”.
• Donald Trump claims in his social media platform Truth Social that the fraud during the 2020 American presidential elections justifies the “termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution”.

December 4, 2022

• The Indonesian government raises the volcanic alert status to the highest level after Semeru in East Java erupts, forcing the evacuation of around 2,000 people.
• The African National Congress meets to debate the political future of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa amid an emerging scandal concerning Ramaphosa’s ownership of a farm in alleged breach of anti-corruption laws.

December 5, 2022

• Russian forces launch another wave of cruise missile strikes on Ukraine, destroying homes and killing two people in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, while causing power outages in many other areas after damaging critical infrastructure.
• Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe is re-elected as President of the Eurogroup.
• The US$60-per-barrel price ceiling on Russian seaborne oil imposed by Australia, the European Union, and the G7 comes into force.

December 6, 2022

• Seven people are killed when a vehicle carrying oil workers hits a roadside bomb in Balkh Province.
• Six people are injured in an explosion at a money exchange market in Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province.
• The People’s Representative Council of Indonesia replaces the country’s colonial-era criminal code with a new code that criminalizes premarital and extramarital sex and cohabitation, among other changes.

December 7, 2022

• Turkey gives the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces an ultimatum to withdraw its fighters from Manbij, Tell Rifaat, and Kobanî within two weeks or face military action. A Turkish official says that Russia and the United States have been informed of the deadline.
• The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities approves the first new coal mine in the United Kingdom in 30 years at the Woodhouse Colliery in Cumbria, England. The mine is expected to remain operational for up to 50 years.
• President Pedro Castillo announces the dissolution of Congress, the imposition of a curfew, the creation of an “emergency” government, and early parliamentary elections hours before facing his third impeachment vote.

 

 

 

December 8, 2022

• Three Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen are killed, and two others are injured during an arrest raid by Israeli soldiers at a refugee camp in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
• The United States Federal Trade Commission announces that they will sue in an attempt to block Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, citing concerns that the deal would give Microsoft too much control over certain parts of the gaming industry.
• Protests break out across Peru, including the capital Lima, in response to ousting and detainment of former President of Peru Pedro Castillo.

December 9, 2022

• Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić says that Serbia is close to deploying its troops to North Kosovo after claiming that the lives of the Serb minority there are “being threatened”, and that the NATO-led Kosovo Force was “failing to protect them”.
• The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control imposes sanctions on former Guinean president Alpha Condé for engaging in political violence during his presidency.
• A Japanese research team from Yamagata University announces the discovery of 168 new big figures near the Nazca Lines in Peru.

December 10, 2022

• European Parliament president Roberta Metsola suspends Greek MEP Eva Kaili from her role as Vice-President of the European Parliament following her arrest the previous day over corruption charges.
• Morocco defeats Portugal 1–0 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup to become the first African and first Arab semi-finalist in World Cup history.

December 11, 2022

• Serb protesters in Northern Kosovo block main roads for a second day following a nighttime exchange of fire with police after the arrest of a Serb former policeman, amid rising tensions between authorities and Kosovo’s Serb minority.
• Six Pakistani civilians and a Taliban fighter are killed during a shootout between Taliban forces and Pakistani soldiers over a dispute on construction of new checkpoints on the Afghan side of the Chaman border. Seventeen Pakistani civilians, ten Taliban fighters and three Afghan civilians are also injured.

December 12, 2022

• Two police officers and a civilian are killed and two other officers are injured when gunmen open fire at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland, Australia, where police were investigating a missing person report. The three perpetrators are later killed by police.
• All members of Belgium’s Political Bureau of the Walloon Parliament resign after a scandal concerning excessive public spending by parliamentary clerk Frédéric Janssens.

December 13, 2022

• The Lachin corridor, the only link between Armenia and the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, is blocked by a group of Azerbaijani citizens described as environmental activists by state media. The protesters say that they are calling attention to what Azerbaijan says is illegal mining in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the use of the road to transport the minerals to Armenia. The protesters’ action leaves hundreds of Karabakh cars stranded on other sections of the highway.
• The United States Department of Energy announces the achievement of fusion ignition by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

December 14, 2022

• Two people are killed and 14 others are injured when a roadside bomb targeting a security forces’ convoy explodes in Miranshah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
• Members of parliament belonging to the Armenian governing coalition accuse Russia of wanting to drag Armenia into a new war with neighboring Azerbaijan, and criticize the conduct of Russian peacekeepers amid a renewed crisis in the region following the Lachin blockade and worsening relations between Armenia and Russia.
• One Irish U.N. peacekeeper is killed and three others are wounded after an armed confrontation with a crowd in Al-Aqbieh, Lebanon.

December 15, 2022

• Seven people are killed and 52 others are injured by the Peruvian Army in the city of Ayacucho following a crackdown in recent protests.
• The United States Senate passes a defense bill that rescinds the vaccine mandate for the U.S. military.
• Twitter suspends the accounts of several journalists who reported on negative news relating to Elon Musk and Twitter. Musk accuses these journalists of posting links to real-time location data. The suspensions follow an incident in Los Angeles involving the safety of Elon Musk’s son.

 

December 16, 2022

• Russian forces launch a barrage of at least 76 missiles across Ukraine, damaging at least nine power stations and killing at least three civilians, with many more civilians being injured.
• The International Criminal Court concludes its investigation in the situation in Georgia, delivering arrest warrants for three de facto South Ossetian officials believed to bear responsibility for war crimes against Georgian civilians during the 2008 war. The fourth suspect, Russian general Vyacheslav Borisov, is not indicted as he died in 2021.

December 17, 2022

• Uzbekistan announces a nearly $1 billion loan from the two main World Bank lending institutions, aimed at supporting the country’s transition to a private sector-led economy.
• German authorities recover 31 royal jewellery items that were stolen from the Green Vault Museum at Dresden Castle in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, in 2019.

December 18, 2022

• Around 20 Pakistani Taliban members seize control of a counterterrorism centre in Bannu, Pakistan, killing one officer and taking six hostages. The attackers are demanding safe passage to Afghanistan.
• At least 31 people are killed and 37 others are injured when a tank truck overturns, explodes and catches fire in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan.
• Argentina defeats the reigning champions France 4–2 on penalties after a 3–3 draw to win their third World Cup title, and first since 1986.

December 19, 2022

• Eight civilians are killed and many more wounded after Islamic State gunmen open fire against a convoy carrying villagers in Albu Bali, Al Anbar Governorate.
• Two civilians and a soldier are killed and another civilian is wounded during a suicide bombing in Miranshah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
• European Union member states agree to a natural gas price cap in an attempt to limit economic damage from the global energy crisis.

December 20, 2022

• Security forces storm a counterterrorism office in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which was seized two days ago by 33 Pakistani Taliban members, killing all of the insurgents. Two officers were killed during the siege and many others were injured. All of the hostages are freed.
• The Taliban ban university education for women in Afghanistan. A spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education says that the decree was issued by the Cabinet today and entered into force effective immediately.

December 21, 2022

• Four people are killed and three others are injured when a roadside bomb explodes near a military vehicle in Al Mahfad District, Abyan Governorate, Yemen.
• At least 15 students are killed when a school bus overturns in Manipur, India.

December 22, 2022

• The Russian-installed head of Liubymivka, Kakhovka Raion, Andrei Shlepa, is assassinated in a car bombing in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region. Russia accuses Ukraine of being behind the attack.
• The Spanish Congress of Deputies passes a bill by 188–150 votes allowing anyone over the age of 16 to legally change their gender on their national identity card.
• Nataša Pirc Musar is sworn in as the first female President of Slovenia.

December 23, 2022

• A police officer is killed and ten other people are injured when two Pakistani Taliban insurgents blow themselves up in a car outside a police station in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• At least 200 million people, two-thirds of the population of the United States, are under weather warning advisories, with the state of New York issuing a travel ban due to extreme temperatures. 1.5 million People across the country are left without power and at least 28 people are killed as a result of the storm.

December 24, 2022

• The Taliban issues a decree banning female employees from all non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan.
• Kurds riot near the Place de la République in Paris, France, damaging shops and setting fires. The Paris Police Prefecture reports 11 arrests and at least 30 minor injuries in relation to the violence. The riot followed a peaceful protest in response to yesterday’s mass shooting at a Kurdish cultural center that killed three people.

December 25, 2022

• Six soldiers are killed and 17 civilians are injured during a series of nine attacks in Balochistan, Pakistan.
• Catalonia in Spain registers the highest December temperature ever for the autonomous community in Anglès, which reached 26.3 °C (79.3 °F). Several other stations, including in the regional capital of Barcelona, also break records.
• An attack on an electrical substation in Pierce County, Washington, United States, cuts off power to 14,000 people.

December 26, 2022

• Six Syrian Democratic Forces members are killed and an unknown number of others are injured during an ambush by five Islamic State gunmen in Raqqa. One of the attackers is killed and another is arrested.
• Seventeen people are killed and 93 more injured as heavy snow affects Japan.

 

 

December 27, 2022

• The death toll from monsoon floods in the Philippines has increased to 32, with 24 others still missing. Eighteen of the deaths occurred in Northern Mindanao.
• The Taiwanese government announces that it would extend the required duration for conscription from four months to one year, citing the increasing threat of China using military force to pursue Chinese unification.

December 28, 2022

• Italy and the United States announce that they will require travelers from China to present a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test in order to enter their countries.
• Fourteen people are killed and 24 others are injured when a drunk driver drives into crowds at the annual carnival parade in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

December 29, 2022

• Five people are killed and 37 others injured in a fire caused by the collision of a freight truck and a bus on the Second Gyeongin Expressway near Seoul, South Korea.
• Benjamin Netanyahu is sworn in as the prime minister of Israel for the third time in his political career.
• Brazilian footballer Pelé dies at the age of 82.

December 30, 2022

• Ten people are killed and two others are injured after Islamic State gunmen open fire on a bus carrying oil workers in Deir ez-Zor.
• The death toll from the fuel tanker explosion in Boksburg, South Africa, six days ago, increases to 34.
• France, Israel, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom announce that they will require travelers from China to present a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter their countries.

December 31, 2022

• Hundreds of Russian mobilized soldiers are claimed by Ukraine to be killed and injured as a result of a Ukrainian missile attack on a vocational school building serving as military barracks. Russian authorities acknowledge several casualties, but suggest lower figures.
• The Colombian government reaches a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the major armed groups involved in the conflict, including the National Liberation Army, FARC dissidents, and the Clan del Golfo. The ceasefire will be in effect from January 1 to at least June 30.
• Fifteen people are killed and 47 others are injured after a bus crashed and flipped in Nayarit, Mexico.

 

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KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF ECONOMIC SURVEY 2021-22

 

 

• GDP growth rate during fiscal year 2021-22 on the new base of 2015-16 stood at 5.97%.
• Agriculture sector is estimated to grow at 4.4% in FY22 against 3.48% in FY21. The livestock sector grew at 3.3%, accompanied by forestry and fishing showing growth of 6.13%.
• Industry sector expanded at 7.19% in FY22 against 7.81% last year.
• The growth of services sector was recorded at 6.19% in FY22 as opposed to 6% in FY21.
• Large scale manufacturing witnessed 10.4% growth during 9MFY22 (versus 4.2% during 9MFY21).
• Cement production decreased by 8.2% for 9MFY22, while oil sales of the same period saw an increase of 17%.
• The size of Pakistan’s economy is expected to amount to Rs66.95 trillion in FY22 compared to Rs55.8 trillion recorded in FY21.
• During FY22, the per capita income of country increased to Rs314,353 (equivalent to $1,798).
• In dollar terms, the size of the economy reached to $382.8 billion.
• Current account deficit was recorded at $13.8 billion in 10MFY22 from $543 million (10MFY21), owing mostly to increased import volumes of commodities as well as increased international prices.
• Exports also witnessed growth of 27.6% to reach $26.8 billion for 10MFY22 (compared to $21 billion for 10MFY21). Food group’s exports increased by 18.9% year-on-year reaching $3.9 billion during 10MFY22.
• The total imports during 10MFY22 clocked at $59.8 billion showing a growth of 39% year-on-year, comprising mainly of petroleum, medicinal products, petroleum crude, LNG, palm oil, plastic materials and iron and steel.
• Trade deficit in goods and services widened by 51.5% year-on-year on account of 39% year-on-year increase in imports of goods as well as 34.0% year-on-year increase in imports of services.
• Net FDI inflows rose 6.1% to $1.25 billion 9MFY22 as against $1.18 billion last year.
• Remittances saw a year-on-year increase of 7.6% to $26.1 billion during 10MFY22, a historic high.
• Liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $16.1 billion while SBP’s reserves amounted to under $10 billion while commercial banks’ reserves at $6.1 billion as of May’22.
• Private sector credit witnessed an unprecedented expansion of Rs1,312 billion during 10MFY22.
• Annual inflation (CPI) was recorded at 11.3% as opposed to the targeted 8.2%.

 

 

SALIENT FEATURES OF FEDERAL BUDGET 2022-23

On 10.06.2022 Miftah Ismail, the finance autocrat, disclosed the federal budget with a total outlay of Rs9.5 trillion in the National Assembly.

• Economic growth target set at 5% for 2022-23 fiscal year
• The government announced a 15% increase in salaries of its employees while merging adhoc allowance with the basic salary as well.
• FBR’s tax revenue target has been raised to Rs7,004 billion, which includes provincial allocation of Rs4,100 billion.
• Inflation expected to average at 11.5% in 2022-23
• Pakistan to export $35 billion worth of goods and services in next fiscal year
• Import target of the country set at $70 billion
• The country to contain trade deficit at 2.2% of GDP in 2022-23
• Remittances forecasted at $33.2 billion
• Fiscal deficit target set at 4.9% of GDP for 2022-23
• Tax-to-GDP ratio for 2022-23 envisaged at 9.2%
• 2% additional tax imposed on tax filers earning Rs30 million yearly income
• Federal development expenditure fixed at Rs727 billion for 2022-23
• Ban imposed on purchase of new cars for government officials
• 30 pharmaceutical products have been exempted from customs duty
• Miftah said due to the past government, the IMF programme, which should have ended this year, got suspended in February, and basic reforms that should have taken place in 2019 were not implemented.

Income tax measures

• Income tax threshold (per year) has been increased from Rs600,000 to Rs1.2 million. This proposal effectively means there will be no income tax on individuals earning up to Rs100,000 a month.
• Windfall gain tax on banking sector. The banking sector will now face a taxation rate of 42%, up from the current 39%. “This includes the super tax amount. This could fetch around Rs15 billion to Rs20 billion in taxes.”
• Income from Behbood certificates, which has been subject to final tax of 10%, now cut to 5%.
• A fixed income and sales tax system has been proposed for small retailers. Under this, taxes will be collected with electricity bills. The amount of tax shall be Rs3,000 to Rs10,000.
• Withholding tax abolished on film distributors. Finance minister said this, along with other measures, will help promote the film and culture industry.

Finance minister announced major allocations

• Rs3,950 billion allocated for debt servicing (domestic and external) in FY23
• Rs1,523 billion for defence expenditure
• Rs550 billion for civilian administration
• Rs530 billion for pension expenditure
• Rs699 billion allocated as subsidies
• Rs1,242 billion as grants
• Health budget to amount to Rs19.03 billion
• Allocation for education at Rs90.6 billion. Rs65 billion for Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Rs44 billion for its development. Rs17 billion allocated to the IT sector
• Rs364 billion has been allocated for Benazir Income Support Programme, whereas Rs12 billion has been allocated for subsidies to be offered at Utility Stores Corporation.

Austerity measures

• “To control expenditure, the government will not purchase automobiles and furniture (except for development projects), whereas employees’ petrol quota has been cut by 40%,”.
• Will establish a pension fund. An amount of Rs10 billion will be allocated for this pension fund.
• Cash subsidy announced for low-income groups. A family with household income of less than Rs40,000 will be given a transfer of Rs2,000.
• “Bringing economic stability is our top priority. The basic problem of our economy is that a growth rate of 3-4% doesn’t help our growing population, whereas a growth rate of 5-6% leads to a current account deficit.”

 

PUNJAB PRESENTS BUDGET 2022-2023

 

Following are the salient features Of Punjab budget for fiscal year 2022-23 presented by Provincial Minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari in Punjab Assembly session held here at Aiwan-e-Iqbal on 15.06.2022;

• Record increase of 22 per cent in development budget with an allocation of Rs 685 billion consisting of 40 per cent for social sector, 24 per cent for medical infrastructure, 6 per cent for production sector and 2 per cent for services sector.
• Rs 35 billion had been allocated for improvement of road network while Rs 6 billion had been earmarked for improvement of prisons.
• Contrary to last year allocation of Rs 60 billion for provision of health facilities this time Punjab government has allocated Rs 125 billion 34 crores for health facilities to the poor people.
• Rs 1.5 billion have been allocated for provision of laptops to brilliant and less privileged students.
• Rs 240 billion which is the 35 per cent of the total development budget has been allocated for the development of southern Punjab and there will be no cut in this allocation.
• Rs 272.60 billion had been allocated for social sector and women development while Rs 7 billion had been allocated for WASA.
• Education Sector would be getting 10 per cent increase and for this purpose Rs 485.26 billion were being earmarked.
• Under the zewar-e-Taleem programme Rs 5.53 billion have been allocated for distribution of scholarships to more than 600,000 students.
• Rs 1.5 billion had been allocated for the construction of Daanish schools while Rs14 billion 93 crore earmarked for school councils and in order to provide free books in schools Rs 3 billion 20 crore had been allocated.
• Rs 2.5 billion had been allocated for construction of new buildings of schools and repair of wrecked school buildings whereas Rs 21.5 billion had been allocated for Punjab education foundation.
• Free wifi project had been restored and Rs 59.7 billion had been allocated for higher education.
• For construction of 13 new colleges in different districts Rs 2.37 billion had been allocated while Rs 2 billion have been earmarked for additional classroom construction and for provision of furniture in colleges.
• 5 billion allocated special education while special education department would get Rs 3.59 billion.
• In the health sector development overall Rs 470 billion had been allocated which were 27 per cent more than the previous year and from this amount Rs 174.50 billion had been allocated for development expenditure.
• PKLI to get Rs 5 billion for treatment of cancer, coronary, liver and kidney diseases. Free medicines to cancer patients were also being restored.
• Rs 3.10 billion allocated for government hospitals ongoing missing facilities projects while Rs 2.70 billion had been allocated for new projects.
• In district headquarters hospitals Rs 1 billion had been allocated for provision of CT scan and Rs 2 billion earmarked for MRI facility.
• Rs 151.50 billion had been allocated for specialized health programme which is 93 per cent more than the previous year. For rehabilitation of hospitals Rs 5 billion rupees were being earmarked and Rs 2 billion for up gradation of hostels of medical colleges and Rs 2 billion had been allocated for provision of MRI and CT scan facility in tertiary hospital while new medical colleges would be constructed in Okara and Narowal.
• Rs 2.5 billion had been allocated for nursing colleges while 3.5 billion earmarked for establishment of nursing university in PKLI.
• 40 billion allocated for social protection authority under which senior citizens, special persons, transgender and widow would be given Rs 2000 per month.
• Rs 19.40 billion allocated for livestock sector in which Rs 2.85 billion had been allocated for university of veterinary sciences in Chichawatni.
• 58 billion amount would be spent for missing facilities of livestock sector in Lahore, DG Khan, Bahawalpur and Sargodha.
• For the irrigation sector Rs 53.32 billion had been allocated in which Rs 25.69 billion would be spent on development.
• Rs 4.70 billion would be spent in Khushab and Mianwali for restoration of Mahaar lift at Mahajir branch canal.
• For prevention of river erosion, Rs 2.5 billion have been allocated. For lining of canal Rs1.80 billion had been allocated whereas for rehabilitation of Trimu and Panjnad head Rs 1.20 billion have been earmarked and to provide drinking water in Cholistan Rs 84 crore have been allocated.
• Rs 23.83 billion had been allocated for industrial sector development in which Rs 12.53 billion would be spent on development.
• Rs 8.25 billion had been earmarked for establishment of Mir Chakar Rind University DG Khan and also enhancing the capability of Tianjing University.
• Rs 6 billion budget would be spent on prevention of smog, air pollution, forest fire and other natural calamities and to combat the climate changes.
• Rs 8.83 billion had been allocated for the promotion of sports in which Rs 7.70 billion would be spent on development projects.
• Rs 1.27 billion for women development department and Rs 2.5 billion for protection of minorities.
• Rs 528 billion for local government while Rs 60 core dollars would spend on up-gradation of big cities projects.
• Historic 30 per cent overall increase was being to government servants from grade 1 to 19. Minimum wages was being increased from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 for labourers.

 

 

Sindh presents Rs 1.714 trillion tax-free deficit budget for FY 2022.23

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on 14.06.2022 presented Rs 1.714 trillion pro-poor tax-free deficit budget for the year 2022-23.

• He said that the total receipts of the provincial government for next financial year would come to Rs 1,679,734.8 billion against the expenditures of Rs 1,714,583.1 billion which shows a deficit of Rs 34.8 billion deficit.
• Shah in his budget speech told the house that the overall revenue receipts would come to Rs 1,679,734.8 billion, including Rs 1.055 billion federal transfers, Rs 374.5 billion provincial receipts (Rs 167.5 billion provincial tax receipts excluding GST on services, Rs 180 billion provincial sales tax on services and Rs 27,000 million provincial non-tax receipts), Rs 51,132.8 million current capital receipts, Rs 105,567.5 million other transfers such as foreign project assistance, federal grants and foreign grants and Rs 20,000 million carry over cash balance and public accounts of the province.
• The provincial tax collecting organizations would achieve their collection targets such as Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) Rs180 billion, Excise & Taxation Rs 1.20 billion and Board of Revenue Rs 30 billion.
• The current revenue expenditures for the next financial year would be Rs 1,199,445.4 million, Current capital Expenditures Rs 54.48 billion, Development portfolio Rs 459.65 billion, including Rs 332.165 billion provincial ADP, Rs 30 billion district ADP, and Rs 91.467 billion Foreign Assistance Project (FAP) and Rs 6.02 billion other federal grants.
• The provincial government, during the 11 months (July to May) of outgoing financial year, has received Rs 716 billion against a share of Rs 732 billion which shows a shortfall of Rs 16 billion. Shah added that his government during the said period received Rs 45 billion in straight transfers and in OZT by receiving Rs 18.9 billion against a share of Rs 19.7 billion.
• In next financial year, size of development budget will be Rs 459.658 billion as compared to Rs 329.033 billion in year 2021-22, that will include Rs 332.165 billion for Provincial ADP and Rs 30 billion for Districts ADP. Foreign project assistance of Rs.91.468 billion from the development partners and Rs 6.025 billion are expected from Federal PSDP grant. .
• 4,158 schemes, including 2506 on-going and 1652 new schemes have been given an allocation of Rs 332.165 billion. He added that the on-going 2506 schemes have been given 76 percent funds or Rs 253.146 billion allocation and 1652 new schemes have been allocated 24 percent funds or Rs 79.019 billion.
• The CM announced that 1510 schemes would be completed in FY 2022-23. The chief minister announced a Rs 26.850 billion pro-poor, social protection and economic sustainability package.
• While announcing the Pay and Pension, the chief minister said that the Adhoc Relief Allowances 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 at the rates admissible to employees of Federal government were being merged and Revised Basic Pay Scale 2022 for Civil Servants of Sindh government was being introduced on the pattern of Federal Government.
• He also announced Adhoc Relief Allowance at the rate of 15 percent of Basic Pay Scales to government servants from 1st July 2022. “Disparity Allowance at the rate of 33 percent of Basic Pay will be paid to Civil Servants in BPS-1 to 16 and at the rate of 30 percent to Civil Servants in BPS-17 and above in lieu of the differential rate of Ad-hoc Relief Allowances 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021, which are being abolished from July, 2022,” he said.
• The CM said that the Pensioners of Sindh government were already getting 22.5% more increase in net pension than pensioners of the Federal Government till February 2022. Therefore, he said an increase at the rate of 5% of net pension would be paid to the pensioners of the Sindh Government from 1st July, 2022.
• The chief minister also announced to upgrade the post of police constables from grade BS-5 to grade BS-7.
• The chief minister announced to exempt toll manufacturing services from SST. He addd that 5% reduced SST rate for “Recruiting Agents” would continue for next two years – means up to 30th June, 2024. This relief is proposed for Pakistanis aspiring to work overseas.
• He said that the Services provided by Cable TV Operators were levied at a reduced rate of 10%, the existing relief was proposed to be extended for a further period of two years ending on 30th June, 2024.
• The CM said that his government has kept the Education Sector at its top priority by allocating Rs. 326.80 billion which forms more than 25 percent of total budget outlay. He said that the Health Sector has also been given top priority by pitching budgetary allocation at Rs. 230.30 billion which forms more than 19 percent of total budget outlay.
• The total outlay of the health budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 is earmarked at Rs 206.98 billion, covering primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare level services, preventive interventions as well as other communicable and non-communicable diseases. This year the health sector budget is 14% higher in comparison to Rs 181.22 billion during FY 2021-22.
• He said that for the next financial year 2022-23, the total allocation for the Home Department, including Sindh Police and Jails, has been enhanced to Rs 124.873 billion from Rs 119.98 billion during the current financial year.
• He said that for the next financial year 2022-23, the budget for irrigation has been enhanced from Rs 21.231 billion to Rs 24.091 billion. Allocation for the Agriculture & Irrigation department in ADP 2022-23 is Rs 36.2 billion.
• The Water & Sewerage sector has been given Rs 224.675 billion in the financial year 2022-23. The two major schemes of the city will be executed during the coming financial year. Re-Settlement of affectees of Gujjar, Mehmoodabad & Orangi Nallahs, for Rs 9.423 billion.
• Greater Karachi Bulk Water Scheme K-IV Augmentation Works for Rs 511.724 billion. The Sindh government has increased its budget from Rs 8 billion to Rs 12.00 billion for the next financial year 2022-23. The government intends to further expand operations of Sindh Solid Waste Management Board to other cities in the next financial year which include Hyderabad, Qasimabad, Kotri, Sukkur City and Rohri.
• For the next financial year 2022-23 budget allocation for the Social Protection Department has been earmarked at Rs 15.435 billion. In order to improve the well-being and welfare of senior citizens, orphans, and the poor, several social programs are being initiated and financed from the next financial year 2022-23, he added.

 

Highlights of KP Budget 2022-23

 

• The major highlights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget 2022-23 announced by the Finance Minister, Taimur Salim Jhagra here on 13.06.2022 is below;
• KP budget 2022-23 is balanced with total outlay of Rs 1332 billion
• Current budget is Rs 913.8 billion
• Development budget is Rs 418.2 billion
• Total receipts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is Rs 1332 billion
• Rs 570.9 billion would be collected from federal taxes
• Rs 68.6 billion from federal divisible pool under one percent share of war on terror
• Rs 208.7 billion grant for merged districts
• 15 percent increase in salaries of government employees
• Risk allowance for police constables from grade 7 to 16
• Rs 275.7 billion for provincial development program including AIP
• Rs 8.3 billion for PSDP shares
• Rs 205,725 million for health
• Rs 227,087 million for elementary and secondary education
• Rs 101,572 million for home department
• Rs 29,458 million for agriculture
• Rs 22,017 million for sports and culture
• Regularization of 63,000 contract employees including 58,000 teachers announced
• 20 percent discount for re-registration of motor-vehicles, first registration
• No tax on land, exempted from CVT and registration fees
• No fees for students of elementary and secondary education were among
• No tax on libraries archives or hostels.
• PFM law announced for bringing more financial transparency
• Rs 26 billion relief for one million families under Insaaf Food Card
• Rs 25 billion for Sehat Card Plus
• Five more critical diseases to be included in Seht Card with an allocation of Rs 2.5 billion
• Rs 53.6 billion for medical and allied hospitals and MTIs, four new medical colleges to be established
• Rs 15.5 million for tourism promotion
• Construction of a model hospital in Peshawar
• Construction of Swat Motorway Phase-II
• Starting practical work on Dir Motorway, D.I. Khan Motorway
• Establishment of KP Economic Corridor
• Rs one billion for interest-free loans to youth, Rs 12 billion for SMEs
• Rs 16.4 billion for village and neighborhood councils
• Rs 180 million for rehabilitation of drug addicts
• Rs 3 billion for science and technology
• Approval of new Peshawar valley city
• Establishment of Mobile Highway Motorway Rescue Services
• Inclusion of 86 new buses in BRT
• Rs 500 million for Safe City Peshawar
• Rs 3.5 billion for women empowerment
• Rs 4 billion for combating climate change
• Rs 15.8 billion for hydle power generation

 

PAKISTANI CELEBRITIES WHO LEFT US IN 2022

• Afra Bukhari (14 March 1938 – 2 January 2022) was a Pakistani writer, best known for her short stories in the Urdu language.
• Mohammad Taskeen Manerwal (15 September 1949 – 10 January 2022) was a Pakistani intellectual, writer, and author of Pashto literature and poetry.
• Rasheed Naz, Tele vision actor died in Islamabad, Pakistan on 17 January 2022 at the age of 73.
• Aftab Baloch (1 April 1953 – 24 January 2022) was a Pakistani cricketer.
• Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar (24 January 2022) was a Pakistani politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from September 2013 to May 2018.
• Mirza Khan (15 December 1924 – 26 January 2022) was a Pakistani hurdler who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.
• Yahya Butt (1961/1962 – 6 February 2022) was a leading bodybuilder in Pakistan. He won the Asian Gold Medal three times. He was also the chairman of Punjab Bodybuilding Association. Butt had won the Mr. Pakistan Olympia title five times and represented Pakistan four times in the Mr. Universe competitions. Butt won the Mr. Asia title in 1994.
• Khayal Zaman Orakzai (died 14 February 2022) was a Pakistani businessman and politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 until his death.
• Abdul Waheed (30 November 1936 – 21 February 2022) was a Pakistani field hockey player who was a member of the country’s gold medal winning 1960 Olympic Hockey team.
• Mehdi Hasan (27 June 193 – 23 February 2022) SI was a Pakistani left-wing journalist, media historian, and acedemian. He was one of Pakistan’s most prominent communication experts, with a specialization in political analysis.
• Abdul Rehman Malik NI (12 December 1951 – 23 February 2022) was a Pakistani politician and a Federal Investigation Agency officer, having served as the Interior Minister from being appointed on 25 March 2008 until 16 March 2013.
• Abdul Hai Baloch (1 February 1946 – 25 February 2022), was a Pakistani social and political activist from Balochistan.
• Mahmood Ashraf Usmani (14 May 1951 – 27 February 2022) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, jurist and an author and headed the Dar-ul-Ifta at Darul Uloom Karachi.
• Masood Akhtar (5 September 1939 – 5 March 2022) was a Pakistani actor and considered one of the versatile actors of the industry.
• Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (2 November 1929 –7 March 2022) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the ninth president of Pakistan from January 1998 until his resignation in June 2001, and prior to that as a senator from Punjab in 1997. Before entering politics, Tarar served as senior justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from 1991 to 1994 and as the 28^th Chief Justice of Lahore High Court from 1989 to 1991.
• Sara Goodyear (June 12, 1953 – March 20, 2022) was a Pakistan-born American author and professor of English at Yale University.
• Mohammad Karim (1950/1951 – 4 April 2022), also known as “Little Karim”, was a Pakistani high-altitude porter-turned mountain climber. He climbed Gasherbrum II without supplementary oxygen.
• Mohammad Hussain (8 October 1976 – 11 April 2022) was a Pakistani cricketer who played in 2 Tests and 14 ODIs between 1996 and 1998.
• Bilquis Bano Edhi HI (14 August 1947 – 15 April 2022) was a Pakistani nurse who helped save the lives of over 16,000 children. During her career as a nurse and marriage to Abdul Sattar Edhi, she was one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan.
• Shahzada Mohiuddin (5 August 1938 – 27 April 2022) was a Pakistani politician, a Federal and Provincial Minister, and Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
• Waqar Ahmad Khan (born 15 October 1967 – 30 April 2022) was a Pakistani politician and member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan belonged to the Awami National Party.
• Sheherezade Alam (1947/1948 – 19 May 2022) was a Pakistani ceramist.
• Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali Daula (21 October 1940 – 19 May 2022) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 18^th Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1993 to 1996.
• Sajjad Kishwar (6 July 1933 – 24 May 2022) was a Pakistani film and television actor.
• Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb (11 January 1960 – 30 May 2022) was a Pakistani engineer, and a member of Parliament MNA.
• Aamir Liaquat Hussain (5 July 1971 – 9 June 2022) was a Pakistani politician, columnist and television host. Hussain was a top ranking TV anchor and was listed three times in The 500 influential Muslims worldwide, and was among 100 popular personalities of Pakistan.
• Sikandar Ali Mandhro (7 July 1943 – 11 June 2022) was a Pakistani politician.
• Bakht Baidar (1 January 1950 – 17 June 2022) was a Pakistani social worker and politician from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Masood Khawaja,(21 une 2022) actor and comedian who achieved fame in the late 1980s from Pakistan Television (PTV) and theatre in Rawalpindi, passed away at the age of 55
• Rubina Qureshi, TI (19 October 1940 – 13 July 2022) was a Pakistani Sindhi language folk singer, popularly known as Nightingale of Sindh.
• Tanveer Jamal (30 June 1960 – 13 July 2022) was a Pakistani actor, director and producer.
• Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali HI (M) TBt & Bar (13 September 1971 – 2 August 2022) was a Pakistani general. He was the commander of the Pakistan Army’s XII Corps from December 2020 until his death in a military helicopter crash on 2 August 2022.
• Nafis Sadik (18 August 1929 – 14 August 2022) was a Pakistani physician, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General with additional responsibilities as Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia, and former executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) from 1987 to 2000.
• Nayyara Noor (‎3 November 1950 – 20 August 2022) was a Pakistani playback singer, considered one of Pakistan’s most popular singers. She was known for performing in live ghazal singing concerts in Pakistani TV shows and in concert halls around the country.
• Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4^th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7^th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He also served as the 16th governor of Sindh in 1988.
• Imdad Hussaini (10 March 1940 – 27 August 2022) was a Pakistani Sindhi poet and an Urdu language writer.
• Manzoor Hussain (28 October 1958 – 29 August 2022), better known as Manzoor Junior, was a Pakistani field hockey player between 1975 and 1984 and was capped 175 times with 86 goals to his credit. Manzoor was part of the Pakistan team that won the Bronze Medal in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. He was Captain of the Pakistan team that won the Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Manzoor was also a member of the Pakistan team that won the World Cup in 1978 and 1982. He was known for his exceptional stick work, and one of its remarkable displays was in the 1982 World Cup final where he scored the goal by dodging six German defenders.
• Asad Rauf (12 May 1956 – 14 September 2022) was a Pakistani cricket player and umpire. He was a member of the ICC Elite Umpire Panel from 2006 to 2013.
• Humayun Khan (31 August 1932 – 22 September 2022) was a Pakistani politician and diplomat who served as Foreign Secretary, and as High Commissioner to India and the United Kingdom.
• Yousuf Mustikhan (16 July 1948 – 29 September 2022) was a Pakistani politician who was the president of the Awami Workers Party.
• Shehzad Azam (1 November 1985 – 30 September 2022) was a Pakistani cricketer who played for Islamabad.
• Arshad Sharif (22 February 1973 – 23 October 2022) was a Pakistani journalist, writer, and television news anchor. Sharif was shot and killed in Kajiado, Kenya, by local police on 23 October 2022.
• Sardar Mir Balakh Sher Mazari (8 July 1928– 4 November 2022) was a Pakistani politician who served as Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan for five weeks in 1993.
• Muhammad Rafi Usmani (21 July 1936 – 18 November 2022) was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, jurist and author who served as the President of Darul Uloom Karachi. He was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband, University of the Punjab and the Darul Uloom Karachi. He authored books including Ahkām-e-Zakāt, Al-Tālīqāt al-nāfi’ah alā fath al-mulhim, Islām mai aurat ki hukmrāni and Nawādir al-Fiqh. He was a syndicate member of the University of Karachi, vice-president and a member of the executive council of Wifaq-ul-Madaris.
• Tariq Teddy (12 August 1976 – 19 November 2022) was a Pakistani theatre comedian in Punjab, known for his quick, sharp replies. Teddy died in Lahore on 19 November 2022, at the age of 46.
• Ismail Tara (16 November 1949 – 24 November 2022) was a Pakistani actor and comedian. He worked in stage plays, television and Lollywood films. He was a five time Nigar Awards winner for the best comedian.
• M. Muneer (1944/1945 – 28 November 2022) was a Pakistani businessman and industrialist who served as patron-in-chief of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI).
• Afzaal Ahmad (died 2 December 2022) was a Pakistani actor. He came into limelight with his roles in the following movies: International Gorillay, Aakhri Muqabala and London.
• Najma Hameed (18 March 1944 – 2 December 2022) was a Pakistani politician who served as a member of Senate of Pakistan from 2009 to 2021, representing Pakistan Muslim League (N).
• The legendary singer of the Pakistani showbiz industry Balqees Begum breathed her last on 21 December 2022.

 

BALOCHISTAN GOVT UNVEILS BUDGET 2022-23

• Balochistan Finance Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran unveiled the province’s budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, with a total outlay of more than Rs612 billion.
• In his speech at the Balochistan Assembly, the finance minister said that over Rs191 billion have been proposed for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
• Khetran said Rs28.3 billion have been proposed for the Federal Funded Projects (FFP) and Rs14.6 billion for foreign project assistance (FPA) — apart from the proposed development funds of the province.
• The finance minister added that 3,367 development projects are currently underway for which the province has proposed Rs133 billion and for the 3,470 new projects, it has proposed a total of Rs59 billion.
• He said that the proposed budget is Rs612.79 billion, while the expenditure for the next fiscal year will be Rs539.94 billion, therefore, the budget deficit will clock in at Rs72.85 billion.
• The government has approved a 15% hike in the basic salaries of public-sector employees in line with the pay rates of 2017. A 15% raise has also been made to pensions. He added that the minimum wage for laborer has been set at Rs25,000.
• Budget for health has been proposed at Rs43 billion, education at Rs83 billion, while Rs56 billion have been proposed for the maintenance of law and order in the province. The government has also allocated Rs1.75 billion for food security, he added.
• A sum of Rs 367 billion have been earmarked for non-development expenditures while Rs 191.5 billion have been allocated for developmental expenditures.
• The province is expected to receive Rs 370 billion from the federation during next financial year. Besides, it is expected to receive Rs 48.37 billion through various taxes, Rs 28.27 billion in federal development grant, Rs 40 billion in Sui Gas lease extension bonus, Rs 12.21 billion in capital revenue and development projects and Rs 14.36 billion in foreign funding.

 

AJK PRESENTS RS163BN BUDGET 2022-23

 

• Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government presented its Budget for fiscal Year 2022/23 with a total volume of Rs. 163.7 billion out of which Rs. 28.5 billion have been allocated for annual development program (ADP).
• The estimates for recurring expenditures for next fiscal year have been shown Rs. 135.2 billion compared to Rs. 112. 9 billion revised estimates of current fiscal year while Rs. 28.5 billion has been allocated for development expenditures compared to revised estimates of Rs. 22.8 billion for current fiscal year.
• Total income from revenue for the next fiscal year has been estimated Rs. 36.5 billion including Rs. 25.89 billion from income tax and Rs. 10.61 billion in the head of other taxes.
• The government will receive Rs. 74.32 billion in the head of variable grants, Rs. 25.13 billion in the head of state revenue, Rs. 700 million in the head of water use charges and Rs. 700 million as capital receipts (loan and advances). The minister while elaborating the salient features of the next fiscal year budget said that 62 percent funds in ADP had been allocated for 389 running development schemes while 38 percent was allocated for 263 new projects in the next fiscal year budget and 107 running projects would be completed during the coming fiscal year. He told the house that 19 percent fund in ADP in the coming fiscal budget had been allocated for social sector, 12 percent for production sector and 69 percent for infrastructure development.
• The minister announced 15 percent disparity allowance and 15 percent adhoc allowance on new pay scales of 2022 for government employees and 15 percent rise in pensions of retired government employees. In ADP for next fiscal year, preference had been given to communication department with highest allocation of Rs. 12 billion while Rs. 3.3 billion has been allocated for housing and physical planning. The minister said Rs 2.17 billion had been allocated in ADP for next fiscal year for education department and Rs. 1.8 billion for health department.

GB ASSEMBLY PRESENTS BUDGET OF GILGIT BALTISTAN 2022-23

• The Gilgit Baltistan government on Monday presented a total budget of Rs119.32 billion for the financial year 2022-23.
• Finance Minister Gilgit Baltistan Javed Manwa presented the budget in the GB Assembly. In this budget, a sum of Rs. 47.88 billion has been earmarked for development projects while Rs. 61.44 billion has been earmarked for non-development projects.
• In the development budget of Rs. 47.96 billion, while an amount Rs.18 billion has been allocated for federal PSDP projects and 10 billion wheat for subsidy. The GB government for providing relief to the government employees in the salaries, 15% as adhoc relief with merger of some adhoc allowances of previous years as well as 15% Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA).
• In the annual development program, 644.8 million has been estimated for construction of channels and roads of uninhabited lands while 562 million has been estimated for value chain development. An amount of Rs.1.20 billion have been set aside for health sector, while Rs.2.25 billion has been allocated for education sector, similarly Rs2.53 billion for Power sector, Rs. 5.39 billion have been allocated for public works department.
• About Rs 6.53 million budget has been proposed for capacity building of management and law enforcement agencies. A grant of Rs. 1.16 billion has been allocated for local government and rural development and Rs. 76.58 million has been allocated for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. A sum of Rs174.879 million has been allocated for Forest, Wildlife and Environment.
• An amount of Rs. 121.725 million has been allocated for Minerals and Industry Department and Rs. 498.84 million has been allocated for Food Department. It has been proposed to set aside Rs. 288.57 million for Culture, Sports, Youth Affairs and tourism, while Rs. 266.5 million for Social Welfare.