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March 12, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. Six China-made J-10C jets inducted into PAF
• Six J-10C multirole fighter aircraft were commissioned by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on March 11, 2022 in a bid to address conventional imbalance amid Indian military`s modernisation.
• The PAF acquired the J-10C aircraft, the latest version of fourth-generation J-10 fighters, in response to Rafales bought by India from France.
• Pakistan has always viewed with serious concern India`s military modernisation, fearing that it could upset the delicate conventional balance in the region. It has specifically been cautioning Western countries against providing modern military hardware to India. The aircraft acquired from China were commissioned into the PAF`s Squadron 15 a tactical fighter squadron. The first batch of the newly acquired aircraft arrived in the country earlier this month.
• China delivered these jets within eight months of the signing of the deal.
2. World asked to verify Indian claims about missile
• The government on March 11, 2022 called on the international community to ascertain the veracity of Indian claims of accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan, fearing there could be a sinister design behind the incident.
• In a televised statement on behalf of the government on India`s explanation, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf said it was for the world to see if New Delhi was telling the truth because its leadership couldnot be trusted.
• A supersonic missile, believed to be a mid-range BrahMos, originated from India and struck a cold storage in Mian Channu on Wednesday evening. No loss of life was reported, though it could have prompted a catastrophic exchange between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
• Pakistan`s military had on Thursday night claimed its air defense system constantly tracked the missile that travelled 124 kilometres inside Pakistan for three minutes and 44 seconds, but was not shot down
3. Only one-third of 8,500 missing people have returned: report
• Of the 8,463 citizens missing since March 2011, only 3,284 have returned home, revealed a report submitted by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 11, 2022.
• The report was submitted by the commission`s registrar in a case filed by the heirs of missing persons.
• The commission set up in 2011 to trace the missing persons and fix responsibility on the individuals or organisations responsible disclosed that the institutions concerned did not produce detainees in 550 cases despite the issuance of production orders.
• During the nearly eleven years from March 2011 to Feb 28, 2022, the commission received 8,463 complaints about enforced disappearances, the report said
4. WB okays $435m for low-cost housing
• The board of executive directors of the World Bank has approved $435 million in financing to Pakistan for three housing sector projects mainly in Punjab.
• In an announcement, the bank said the financing would be made available to the Pakistan Housing Finance project, the Punjab Urban Land Systems Enhancement project and the Punjab Affordable Housing Programme.
• These projects will expand access to housing finance, particularly for low-income households, improve land tenure rights and facilitate affordable housing developments in urban Punjab, it said
5. IMF takes issue with amnesty scheme, untargeted subsidies
• Talks between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) appear to have landed in uncharted waters over a tax amnesty scheme and subsidies on petrol and electricity recently announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
• A senior government official told Dawn on Friday that in view of a stalemate on key policy issues, virtual negotiations between the two sides had been extended to Monday instead of the scheduled conclusion on March 11, 2022.
• The talks on the seventh review of a $6bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) started on March 4
