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December 15, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. Nacta drafts first-ever policy to counter violent extremism
• The National Counterterrorism Authority (Nacta) has come up with the first-ever National Counter Violent Extremism Policy of Pakistan (NCVEP 2021) as its draft was submitted to the interior minister on Tuesday.
• Nacta`s national coordinator Mehr Khalig Dad Lak presented the draft policy to Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for approval. Before finalising the draft, Nacta said it held provincial consultations with representatives of various segments of society, including academics, journalists, experts and members of civil society, in the past three months.
• More than 250 relevant contacts and stakeholders from federal and provincial governments were approached for their contribution and input to the policy. This was in addition to three months of hard work by researchers and experts presently serving in Nacta who worked on the draft
2. Pakistan looking for economic ties with US: Qureshi
• Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan desires as table and broad-based relationship with the United States that is driven by economic interests.
• Speaking at the Margalla Dialogue hosted by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on Tuesday, Mr Qureshi said: `We value our longstanding relations with the United States. Looking towards the future, we do not want a transactional relationship with the US. We want multifaceted ties that are not susceptible to the vagaries of regional and international policies.
• The foreign minister during his lecture listed Pakistan`s priorities for ties with major countries, particularly those in the region
3. NCOC allows Pakistanis to return from Category C countries
• The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on December 14, 2021 allowed Pakistanis to travel inbound from category C countries.
• Meanwhile, 25 per cent of total population and 37pc of vaccine-eligible population of Pakistan has been inoculated.
• To facilitate stranded passengers, a meeting of the NCOC decided to allow Pakistanis, including NICOP/ POC holders, to travel inbound from category C countries till December 31.
• However, vaccination certificate, pre-boarding (maximum 48 hours old) PCR test and mandatory quarantine for travellers from Omicron-hit countries will remain applicable.
4. Punjab Gender Parity Report Lahore reported most rape, domestic violence cases
• In 2019 and 2020, women in Punjab faced astonishingly high instances of sexual assault, harassment, rape, kidnapping and domestic violence, reporting 8,797 cases in 2020 as compared to 8,767 in 2019.
• Rape was the most reported crime against women with the highest number of 4,732 cases coming from Lahore in 2020.
• These statistics are part of the fourth Punjab Gender Parity Report 2019 and 2020 prepared by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women. It provides a detailed view of gender parity in Punjab across six thematic areas of justice, demographics, education, governance, health, economic participation and opportunities, and special initiatives.
5. ADB okays $200m loan for Punjab irrigation
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $200 million loan for Pakistan on December 14, 2021 for developing an irrigation system in Punjab to help increase agricultural productivity and enhance food security.
• The project loan, denominated in Japanese yen, will finance the construction of the second branch (Choubara) of the Greater Thal Canal irrigation scheme, the ADB said in a statement.
• The main canal and the Mankera branch were constructed by the government of Pakistan in 2009.
• The scheme is expected to provide reliable water supply to 704,000 hectares(around 1.74m acres) of land in Bhakkar, Jhang, Khushab, Layyah and Muzaffargarh districts, making them more agriculturally productive.
6. Move to connect Pakistan with Starlink network
• A US-based global satellite broadband provider, Starlink, has shown interest in connecting Pakistan to its broadband services.
• Headed by Starlink Middle East & Asia Director Ryan Goodnight, a delegation that also included its head of global site acquisition Ben Macwilliam on Tuesday met federal Minister of Information Technology and Telecom Syed Amin-ul-Hague and IT Secretary Dr Sohail Rajput.
• They discussed the facilitation available to the private sector for investment in the country. The two sides also acknowledged that Pakistan needed strong satellite-based broadband in the areas that were inaccessible to fibre optics
7. Taliban behind 72 extrajudicial killings, says UN
• The UN said on Tuesday there were `credible allegations` of more than 100 extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August, with most carried out by the country`s new rulers.
• United Nations deputy rights chief Nada Al-Nashif said she was deeply alarmed by continuing reports of such killings, despite a general amnesty announced by the Taliban after their August 15 takeover.
• `Between August and November, we received credible allegations of more than 100 killings of former Afghan national security forces and others associated with the former government,` she told the UN Human Rights Council. `At least 72 of these killings, she said, were `attributed to the Taliban`
8. UAE suspends talks with US on purchase of F-35 planes, drones worth $23bn
• The United Arab Emirates suspended talks on a $23 billion deal to purchase American-made F-35 planes, armed drones and other equipment on Tuesday, in a rare dispute between Washington and a key ally in the Gulf.
• The Emirati embassy in Washington said it would suspend discussions with the US, though meetings at the Pentagon this week between the two sides on other matters would move forward as planned.
• The US remains the UA E`s preferred provider for advanced defence requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be reopened in future, the embassy said in a statement.
9. Afghanistan to host Pakistan for three ODIs
• Afghanistan will host Pakistan for a three-match One-day International series in 2023, according to the Future Tours Programme (FTP) announced by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on December 14, 2021.
• The series will take place in February-March, however the exact schedule will be released later.
• `A total number of 11 ODIs, four T20Is and two Test series have been included in Afghanistan schedule for the upcoming two years. These series are scheduled on home and away basis, among which Afghanistan will play 18 home and 34 away matches, apart from participating in the Asia Cup 2022, ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Asia Cup 2023 and the ICC World Cup 2023,` a press release issued by the ACB said
10. Pakistan survive King`s onslaught to clinch T20 series
• There was a moment at the National Stadium on December 14, 2021 when the West Indies probably felt they could pull off an improbable win.
• Even with just his forehand, Brandon King found the perfect connection.
• Shadab Khan could only look up into the night sky to see where the ball went; and then just stared at King.
• One-handed, King had smashed him over his head and over the boundary, taking this second-string west Indies missing several of their big-name players and in a state of rebuilding following their dismal T20 World Cup campaign to 102-3, 71 runs away from victory with six overs to go
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