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January 03, 2022: National Current Affairs MCQs
1. NSC vows to crush terrorist groups with full force
• The National Security Committee (NSC) on January 2, 2023 categorically asked Afghanistan`s Taliban rulers, without directly naming them, to deny safe haven to Pakistani terrorist groups on its soil and end their patronage, while reiterating its intent to crush terrorist groups operating inside the country with full force.
• The uncharacteristically strong-worded statement issued at the end of the NSC meeting, which spanned two days, said: `Pakistan`s security is un compromisable and the full writ of the state will be maintained one very inch of the (sic) Pakistan`s territory.
• The meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by key ministers, services chiefs, and top intelligence officials, also endorsed the government`s road map for restoration of economic stability in the country. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who attended the proceedings on the first day, was absent on the second day
2. No-trust against PA speaker, his deputy withdrawn
• In what seems to be a bid to save themselves from embarrassment, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) on Monday withdrew no-trust motions they had filed against Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan and Deputy Speaker Wasiq Qayyum.
• The move was based on fears that the opposition would not be able to bag 186 votes in a secret ballot to send the speaker and deputy speaker packing and the failure to dislodge them may reflect poorly on the opposition`s `tall claims` that Chief Minister Parvez Elahi would not be able to secure the trust vote. Also, the decision was taken in anticipation of Sibtain Khan`s rescheduling of the assembly session on Jan 9 to take up both motions.
• In a no-confidence motion against the PA speaker and deputy speaker, the movers needed to present186 votes in the house to oust the two officials. On paper, the opposition led by PML-N has 180 votes in the house while the PTI and its ally PML-Q have 190 votes, according to the Punjab Assembly website
3. Important meetings delayed as bureaucrats observe pen-down strike
• The first week of the year was marked by protests and pendown strikes by officials of several federal government offices located not only in the capital but in other cities as well.
• The employees of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) held demonstrations across the country for not being paid salaries for the last three months.
• PCSIR is an allied department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and senior officials of the ministry have said the finance ministry is likely to release the salary amount on January 3, 2023 (today).
• Besides this, the most serious protest was staged by government officers in the federal secretariat, which led to a delay of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting up to Wednesday
4. Poll on Senate seat vacated by Vawda on 25th
• The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on January 2, 2023 announced the schedule for election on a Senate seat which fell vacant after the resignation of former PTI leader Faisal Vawda.
• According to the schedule issued by the ECP, polling for the vacant Senate seat will be held on January 25 in the Sindh Assembly building. Candidates can submit their nomination papers from January 7 to 9, the ECP said. Lists of the candidates will be displayed on January 20.
• Mr Vawda had resigned from the Senate seat on Dec 28.
• The ECP had on Dec 8 restored Mr Vawda as a senator and withdrew the victory notification of Senator Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, who had won the seat following Mr Vawda`s disqualification over hiding his US citizenship
5. NTDC asked to redo Rs370bn investment plan to address provinces` concerns
• Almost all the provinces on January 2, 2023 raised serious objections over the Rs370 billion worth of the three-year investment plan of the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NDTC) for allegedly ignoring their power generation projects to be linked with the national grid including those already cleared for construction.
• The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) which held a public hearing agreed to the concerns of the provinces and asked the national grid operator to take the provinces on board before it could be approved.
• The regulator had called a public hearing to examine if the claimed investment of Rs369.222bn under multi-year tariff (MYT) over the control period (2023-25) was justified
