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July 21, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. Miftah sees economy stabilising with inflows `on cards`
• Blaming political factors for the latest downturn in currency and share markets, Pakistan`s economic managers tried on July 20, 2022 to reassure that macroeconomic fundamentals were stabilising and $8.5-10 billion inflows have been lined up from friendly countries against a financing gap of $4bn estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Simultaneously, economic managers of both incumbent and former PTI governments appeared to hint at the continuation of a staff level agreement with the IMF under an interim set-up.
• While Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and senior State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officials said the IMFhad no problem working with an interim set-up, former finance minister Shaukat Tarin also offered cooperating with a `credible interim government` on the continuation of the IMF programme
2. Pakistani passport remains `fourth-worst in world`
• The Pakistani passport continues to be the fourth-worst in the world, not changing its position from a year ago and providing access to only 32 destinations, according to the Henley Passport Index for 2022.
• The Henley Passport Index is a ranking of all the world`s 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, Dawn.com reported on July 20, 2022.
• The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world`s largest database of travel information, and it is enhanced by extensive, ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department
3. Courts disposed of 2.25m cases since Jan
• The country`s superior and lower judiciaries decided 4.1 million cases against an institution of 4.06m cases last year and has already disposed of around 2.25m cases against the filing of around 2.13m new cases during the first six months of this year, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) said.
• According to an LJCP statement, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has alone decided 11,233 cases against an institution of 8,508 cases during January-June.
• `A reclining trend in the backlog of cases is evident currently, reducing the backlog to 2.1m cases (2,080,601) till June 2022 from 2.2m cases (2,162,042) in January 2021,` it said
4. Pakistan removed from child soldiers list
• The United States has also removed Pakistan from a list of countries that allow the recruitment of child soldiers.
• On Tuesday, the US State Department upgraded Pakistan on another list of states that do not take adequate steps to curb human trafficking removing it from a watch list of potential violators.
• Pakistan was placed on the Child Soldiers Prevention List (CSPA) in 2021.
• The 2021 report accused Pakistan of providing `material support to non-state armed groups that recruited and used child soldiers`.
• The previous report also claimed that the Pakistani government did not report investigating, prosecuting, or convicting individuals of child soldiering offences in 2021
5. ECP postpones polls in Sindh till August
• The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed the second phase of local government elections in Sindh and by polls on a national assembly seat NA-245 in Karachi till August owing to concerns related to weather and Muharram. The decision was taken at a meeting of the commission under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in Islamabad on Wednesday.
• It was attended by the members and secretary of the ECP among other officials.
• In a statement following the meeting, the election watchdog said the local government polls will be held on August 28 instead of July 24 whereas the election on the NA-245 seat will be held on August 21 instead of July 27 due to possible rainy weather and Muharram which is expected to start later this month
