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January 17, 2022: National Current Affairs MCQs
1. PPP springs `surprise` in Karachi polls
• The results of local bodies polls in Karachi and Hyderabad that came out after a delay of almost 29 hours, surprised many on Monday as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged victorious from both cities.
• While the party more or less swept polls in Hyderabad, it was a close contest in Karachi where Jamaat-i-1slami (J1) gave a tough time to PPP that rules Sindh.
• Even after the complete results for Karachi were announced, question marks over the post-voting electoral process persisted with contesting parties and candidates casting doubts over delayed results, non-availability of required documents to polling agents and a slow response from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the complaints
2. Pakistan, Iran sign 39 MoUs to boost trade
• Pakistan and Iran have signed 39 memorandums of understanding to enhance bilateral trade, improve economic relations and ensure cooperation in various fields such as transportation, tourism, fisheries, mines and minerals.
• The MoUs were signed at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the joint border trade committee on January 16, 2023 night.
• The meeting discussed various issues relating to the implementation of agreements signed between the two countries in 2010 and 2006 for increasing trade volume and providing facilities for import and export at the Pak-Iran borders
3. SBP bill passed by Senate despite opposition
• The government on January 16, 2023 suffered a defeat in the Senate where a bill seeking to enhance loan disbursement in smaller provinces was passed by the house amidst the government`s opposition on technical grounds.
• The motion seeking to take State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill for consideration at once was adopted by a majority vote of 26-20 while two members abstained.
• Mover of the bill Senator Mohsin Aziz, while explaining the purpose of the bill, said the share of two provinces Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in total loan portfolio of commercial banks was merely 1.35 per cent while the rest of 98.65pc lending goes to Punjab and Sindh.
• The situation was forcing the owners to shift their industries to other provinces, he said
4. PM asks UAE to facilitate talks on held Kashmir
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on January 16, 2023 asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold serious and sincere talks to resolve burning issues, including Kashmir, and said the United Arab Emirates leadership could play an important role in bringing India and Pakistan to table.
• The prime minister, in an interview with Al Arabiya news channel, said, `My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that let us sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir.
• `In Kashmir, flagrant human rights violations are taking place day in and day out
5. Pakistan among lower-middle income countries: UN report
• Pakistan remains a lower-middle income country and will continue to be vulnerable to fluctuating energy prices, warns a UN report released on January 16, 2023.
• The report also places India and Bangladesh among lower-middle income countries despite their economic gains and urges the entire South Asian region to reduce its energy consumption. Nepal is also placed in the same category, although Afghanistan is listed among low-income countries.
• The report by the UN labour agency warns that finding a decent and well paid job will be harder in 2023 than it was in 2022, thanks to the continuing global economic downturn
