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May 21, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. PM makes out strong case for debt relief at WEF

• Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 20, 2020 said a large number of developing countries did not have fiscal space to deal with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak and called for debt relief to deal with the situation.
• Addressing the `Covid Action Platform` hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) through video link, he said G-20 countries were coming up with a debt relief initiative but more details were needed. `The reason why there should be such an initiative is because we need that Escal space to divert resources to healthcare and environment. I talked to the heads of Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt and they informed me that they are facing a similar situation,` he added.
• PM Khan said that due to limited resources the developing countries faced a dual challenge combating the pandemic and dealing with poverty.

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2. US praises Pakistan`s cooperation for peace in Afghanistan

• The Trump administration`s outgoing point person for South and Central Asia Alice Wells on May 20, 2020 praise d Pakistan for `solid cooperation` for peace in Afghanistan and emphasised that future of bilateral ties depended on Islamabad`s continued support.
• `We have seen over the last year, solid cooperation between Amb Khalilzad and the Pakistani civilian and military leadership to encourage the Taliban to take steps to reach the negotiating table, Ambassador Wells said during an online media briefing in which she reviewed and reflected on US policies in the region during the past three years.
• Amb Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the State Department, is retiring this month. This was possibly her last official media engagement.

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3. Govt proposes `open vote` for Senate elections

• The Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) government has proposed a number of changes to the Constitution and laws to reform the electoral process with the main suggestion of holding Senate elections through an open vote instead of the current method of secret balloting.
• The proposals, placed before the federal cabinet for approval last week, were made public by federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood and Minister for Narcotics Control Azam Swati at a news conference on Wednesday.
• The two ministers were members of a special parliamentary committee constituted by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser in October 2018 on the opposition`s demand to probe charges of rigging in the elections held in July that year.
• The committee, however, failed to complete its task owing to a number of reasons, forcing the opposition parties to finally announce its boycott of the committee in June last year.

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4. Cabinet body agrees to reopen shrines

• The Punjab Cabinet Committee on law and order on May 20, 2020 agreed to a proposal to open shrines managed by the Auqaf Department across the province with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) decided by the health department.
• The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee at the Punjab Civil Secretariat chaired by Law and Social Welfare Minister Basharat Raja.
• It was also attended by labour minister Ansar Majeed Khan and sports and tourism minister Taimur Ahmad Khan.

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5. PCTB bans `controversial` booklet for schoolchildren

• The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) on May 20, 2020 banned abooldet series `Infant Mathematics` published without its approval.
• The booklet was found to be in violation of the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act 2015 section 10.
• According to the section, `No person shall, except with the prior approval of the Board, print, publish, sell or prescribe in an institution any textbook or supplementary material. Secondly, an application for approval to print, publish, sell or prescribe in an institution a textbook or supplementary material shall be made in such mannerand form and on the payment of such fee as may be prescribed.

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6. Special package allocated to Balochistan, GB varsities

• The Higher Education Commission (HEC) said on May 20, 2020 that a special package of Rs285 million had been separately allocated for universities in Balochistan and GilgitBaltistan, over and above their normal allocation for the upcoming financial year 2020-21.
• Also, the allocation for Fata University had been tripled, it added. In view of funding inadequacy for the upcoming fiscal year, the HEC has requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to consider increasing its budgetary allocation.
• The funding for all universities has been increased on the basis of their performance, as indicated by the number of research publications by their faculty members, the number and amounts of the research grants received, the bandwidth utilised for access to digital libraries and internet resources, the amount spent on conferences and professional travel, and the number of PhD faculty and PhD students, according to a statement issued by the HEC

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7. Sindh govt lifts curbs on congregational prayers

• As prominent clerics recently announced resumption of five-time congregational prayers at mosques across the country, the Sindh government on May 20, 2020 allowed Jumatul Wida and Eid prayers across the province but made it clear that all these exercises would be held in accordance with the guidelines issued by the federal government, stressing social distancing.
• Key members of the Sindh cabinet made the announcement at a press conference at the Sindh Assembly auditorium where they also vowed to meet ulema from all schools of thought for consultation so the successful implementation of the guidelines during the prayers could be ensured.
• `We believe both [prayers and social distancing under the guidelines during the prayers] are necessary,` Sindh Information and Local Bodies Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said while replying to a query.

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8. Cambridge cancels face-to-face lectures until next summer

• Britain`s Cambridge University became one of the first in the world on May 20, 2020 to announce that its lectures would be delivered online over the next academic year because of the coronavirus outbreak.
• The university, which had been welcoming students to its cloisters, quadrangles and classrooms for 800 years, shut its campuses in March after the British government introduced a strict lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.
• It said lectures would be delivered virtually until summer of 2021. `All mass lectures so really big lectures involving a lot of students will not happen face to face but will be put online,` said Graham Virgo, Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education.

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9. Brazil sees record virus deaths as pandemic surges in Latin America

• Brazil has seen a record number of coronavirus deaths as the pandemic that has swept across the world begins to hit Latin America with its fullforce.
• With Europe continuing to ease lockdowns and looking to restart its summer tourism season, Latin America has seen coronavirus infections surge in recent days and now accounts for about 580,000 of the world`s nearly five million confirmed cases.
• Brazil has been hard esthit in the region, rising to the third-highest number of cases in the world, as Peru, Mexico and Chile also see steady increases in infections.

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10. Taliban supreme leader offers general amnesty to opponents

• Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has offered general amnesty to the group`s opponents, subject to them renouncing enmity.
• He has said that every male and female member of society shall be given their due rights.
• In his felicitation message ahead of Eidul Fitr, issued on May 20, 2020, the Taliban leader categorically stated that `Islamic Emirate` did not have a monopolist policy and assured that every male and female member of Afghan society shall be given their due rights, as none shall feel any sense of deprivation or injustice

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