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January 25, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. Justice Ayesha sworn in as SC`s first woman judge
• Justice Ayesha Malik was sworn in as first female judge of the Supreme Court on January 24, 2022, a landmark occasion in a nation where activists say the law is often wielded against women.
• Justice Malik attended a ceremony in the capital where she now sits on the bench alongside 16 male colleagues at Pakistan`s highest court.
• Justice Malik was educated at Harvard University and served as a high court judge in Lahore for the past two decades. She has been credited with rolling back patriarchal legal mores in her Punjab province jurisdiction.
• Last year she outlawed a deeply invasive and medically discredited examination used to determine a woman`s level of sexual experience.
• Justice Malik`s elevation to the apex court may clear the way for more women to enter the male-dominated judiciary of Pakistan.
2. PM`s aide on anti-graft drive quits under a cloud
• A key member of the federal cabinet whose role was central to achieving one of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf`s (PTI) main manifesto promises holding the corrupt accountable and securing the return of the country`s stolen wealth has parted ways with the government.
• But after Mirza Shahzad Akbar, the prime minister`s adviser on accountability and interior, announced his resignation on Monday, it emerged that PM Imran Khan may not have been too happy with the performance of the man handpicked to lead the charge against his main political opponents; the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
• Insiders told Dawn that following Mr Akbar`s resignation, the prime minister was looking for another trustworthy aide to lead the accountability drive
3. SBP keeps policy rate unchanged at 9.75pc
• The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 9.75 per cent in its latest monetary policy and signalled that borrowing costs would remain steady for now, as recent tax increases were expected to curb demand and reduce the country`s budget deficit.
• `There`s no need for further tightening at the moment because of the government`s fiscal policy,` SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir told a news conference on Monday.
• He said economic indicators were within the target, which allowed the central bank to keep the interest rate unchanged at 9.75pc
4. Freight train service launched to link port with rest of Pakistan
• The huge and powerful dark green locomotive attached to a long line of big and small freight containers awaited the inauguration ceremony to be off on its way at the Hutchison Ports Pakistan, also known as the South Asia Pakistan Terminal, on January 24, 2022.
• Then as soon as the ribbon was cut, it honked loudly while making the slouching guests sit up straight in their chairs as it chugged away on its new ballastless tracks.
• Expected to take away the traffic congestion caused by container trucks on roads and highways here, this freight train will reach its destination, Lahore, in up to four days
5. Pakistan launches $1bn Ijara Sukuk in global market
• Pakistan on January 24, 2022 launched the $1 billion Islamic bond Ijara Sukuk in the global capital market at 7.95 per cent return payable on a semi-annual basis with a maturity of seven years i.e. January 31, 2029.
• Listed at the London Stock Exchange, the latest Sukuk bond turned out to be the most expensive Islamic paper Pakistan has raised in recent years. Earlier, a five-year Sukuk bond of same denomination had envisaged 6.8pc return in December 2014, followed by 5.5pc in October 2016 and 5.6pc in December 2017.
• Pakistan launched the Islamic bond in the international market after little over four years. The last five-year Islamic debt instrument was secured at 5.6pc return in December 2017, which matured last month and was required to be replaced by a fresh paper in this case with seven year maturity and 7.95pc return.
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