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 September 30, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Pakistan warns India against LoC `venture`

• Pakistan has warned India of a strong response if New Delhi tries to cross the Line of Control or acts upon its so-called `doctrine of limited war` against Islamabad.
• `To divert the world`s attention from its brutalities, India frequently violates the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir.
• Despite numerous violations Pakistan has acted with restraint,` Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said while addressing the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York on September 29, 2018. `But if India does venture across the LoC, or acts upon its doctrine of `limited` war against Pakistan, it will evoke a strong and matching response.
• Speaking in Urdu, FM Qureshi presented Pakistan`s viewpoint on issues ranging from terrorism, relations with India especially in the context of continuing rights violations in India-held Kashmir, war in Afghanistan, Palestine crisis, climate change, etc.
• He also raised the issue of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and informed the audience that India was behind various acts of terrorism in Pakistan, including the 2014 Army Public School carnage in Peshawar.
• Referring to the change of government following the July 25 general elections in the country, he said that Pakistan would not compromise on the interests of the nation, the sovereignty of the state, or the security of its people.
• `The unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute hinders the realisation of the goal of a durable peace between our two countries.
• For over 70 years now, it has remained on the agenda of the UN Security Council and a blot on the conscience of humanity.

2. Bureaucrat caught stealing Kuwaiti delegate`s wallet

• A senior bureaucrat caused embarrassment to the country when he was caught stealing the wallet of a member of the Kuwaiti delegation which visited the country to discuss investment plans in Pakistan.
• Sources said the theft was committed by a grade-20 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Services Group, deployed at the Finance Ministry and he was caught through closed-circuit TV camera (CCTV) footage after the members of the Kuwaiti delegation lodged a strong protest.
• In the six-second leaked video clip, which also went viral on social media, the bureaucrat could be seen lifting the wallet from the table and putting it into his pocket at a time when all Kuwaiti delegates and officials of the ministry had left the hall at the Economic Affairs Division after the meeting.
• The issue came to light when a member of the Kuwaiti delegation lodged a complaint with the Pakistan officials that his wallet containing a handsome amount of the Kuwaiti dinar had gone missing during the meeting.

3. $4.5bn income loss due to unreliable power access grossly understated: WB

• The net income loss from lack of reliable access to electricity for households in Pakistan has been conservatively estimated at $4.5 billion a year which is about 1.7 per cent of GDP, a new World Bank study notes.
• This estimate is likely to grossly under state the actual loss because it does not capture the impact of lack of reliable access to electricity on health and education outcomes and because access rates could be much lower than the officially reported 97.5pc.
• These results suggest that increasing reliable access to electricity would yield huge gains.
• Pakistan could do so by both continuing to expand the electric grid and by developing alternatives to grid electricity, especially given that Pakistan has large potential for renewable energy from wind, solar, and hydro power.
• The study, `Electrification and Household Welfare` presents the first empirical evidence on the benefits of reliable electricity on households in Pakistan, and it used a two-stage propensity score weighted fixed-effects model to control for unobserved village and individual-specific effects that may simultaneously affect electrification status and the welfare outcomes of interest.

4. Ex-judge sentenced to death for murder of judge`s son

• A former district and sessions judge, along with another accused, has been sentenced to death for the murder of a son of his fellow district and sessions judge in Hyderabad. The motive for the murder appeared to be honour.
• Sikandar Lashari, former district and sessions judge in Mithi, and Irfan Khan aka Fahim were found guilty of masterminding the murder of 19-year-old Agib Shahani, son of his fellow district and sessions judge Khalid Hussain Shahani, in Hyderabad on Feb 19, 2014.
• The ATC-II Karachi judge on September 29, 2018 announced her verdict which was earlier reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.
• The judge observed in her order that all the offences for which the two accused were charged had been proved. It had been proved that accused Lashari was the mastermind of the murder and that he had planned the murder and hired criminals to kill him, noted the judge in the order.

5. Russia-India S-400 air defence systems deal problematic: Pakistan

• Pakistan is concerned about India moving closer to acquiring Russian S-400 air defence systems and urges Moscow not to bet on New Delhi alone, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Sputnik in an interview.
• On September 29, 2018, local media reported that Indian authorities are ready to sign a $5.43 billion contract to purchase five regiments of Russian S-400 Triumph air defence systems.
• Russia and Pakistan’s relationship, is improving day by day and Islamabad is looking forward to working closely with Moscow on defence, trade and economic issues.
• According to the Times of India media outlet, the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave consent to the purchase of the Russian air defence systems. The decision was reportedly made ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country, set for early October.

September 30, 2018: International Current Affairs

6. US shuts down Basra consulate citing Iranian `threats`

• Iraq`s foreign ministry voiced `regret` on September 29, 2018 over a US decision to shut its consulate in the southern city of Basra which has been rocked by weeks of deadly protests, while Iran accused Washington of making `false accusations` to pressure Baghdad.
• `The ministry regrets the American decision to pull its staff out of Basra,` a statement said.
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ordered all but emergency staff to leave Basra, with consular duties to be taken over by the embassy in Baghdad. He blamed Iranian militias for `indirect fire` against the US consulate.
• The State Department also sent out a renewed advisory urging Americans not to travel to Iraq.

7. Rival rallies as Erdogan opens mega mosque in Germany

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to open one of Europe’s largest mosques in Cologne on September 29, 2018 as he wrapped up a controversial visit to Germany, with police deploying in force to manage the rival rallies.
• The inauguration will mark the closing event of his three-day state visit, aimed at repairing frayed ties with Berlin after two years of tensions.
• Erdogan left the German capital after a breakfast meeting with Angela Merkel, their second talks in two days.
• While both leaders signalled their interest in a cautious rapprochement, the German chancellor stressed that “deep differences” remained on civil rights and other issues.
• Erdogan then travelled to the western city of Cologne where several thousand critics took to the streets, protesting everything from Turkey’s record on human rights and press freedom to its treatment of minority Kurds.

8. Palestinians ask UN court to revoke US Jerusalem embassy move

• Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said September 29, 2018 the Palestinians have petitioned the UN’s top court, alleging that the US inauguration of an embassy in Jerusalem was illegal.
• The Palestinians have filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “for violating international law by moving its embassy in Israel to the occupied city of Jerusalem”, he said, quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
• In December, US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite Palestinian claims on part of the city and breaking with longstanding US policy. Palestinians have since refused all contact with the Trump administration.
• The US embassy was transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, a day marked by mass protest in the Gaza Strip, where about 60 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli fire in border clashes.
• Palestinians claim the predominantly Arab eastern area as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

9. China-India border affairs meeting held in Chengdu

• The 12th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, September 28, and 29 2018. The talks were made between representatives of the two countries’ foreign and defence ministries.
• The Chinese delegation was led by Yi Xianliang, head of the department of boundary and oceanic affairs in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Indian delegation was led by Pranay Verma, the joint secretary (East Asia) of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Both sides reviewed the situation along China-India border areas this year and exchanged views, including on border control and boosting mutual trust. The two sides vowed to continue “enhancing communication and coordination between the diplomatic and defence departments, properly handle border-related issues, and strengthen frontier defence exchange and cooperation to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

September 30, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. Pakistan win three Gold, one silver in Asian Junior Squash

• Pakistani juniors won three gold medals and one silver medal in the 25th Asian Junior Squash Championship 2018 in Chennai, India, in different categories on September 29, 2018.
• Pakistani juniors highly remarkable performance is a very good news from squash after a very long time. It also indicates that Pakistan Squash Federation and Pakistan National Squash Academy are finally doing some serious work and the credit must be given to coaches, players, trainers and federation for the efforts they had put in and it is hoped that this is just the beginning and more international titles will come thick and fast.
• In the U-15 final, Pakistani youngster Muhammad Hamza Khan was against local lad Arnav Sareen, who was not only enjoying huge crowd support but was also firm favourite to take the title. Hamza, who had played in this year’s British Junior Open semi-finals and is tipped by many as future of Pakistan squash, never looked in any spot of bother and remained focused on his game plan. Hamza started the final as highly underdog but he proved that crowd support means nothing, when it comes to business.