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June 24, 2023: National Current Affairs MCQs
1. ‘Misleading, unwarranted’: Pakistan says US-India statement contrary to diplomatic norms
• The Foreign Office (FO) on June 23, 2023 termed the joint US-India statement — issued against Pakistan after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Joe Biden a day earlier — “misleading and unwarranted”, saying that the “reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones”.
• Biden laid out a red carpet for Modi, who is on a trip to the US, at the White House on Thursday where the two countries sealed major defence and technology deals as Washington bets big on India as a counterweight to China.
• In an apparent bid to use the visit to further India’s agenda against Islamabad, a joint statement issued by the two heads of state late on Thursday called on Pakistan to crack down on extremists that target New Delhi.
2. World must right itself amid economic, climate crises: PM
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on June 23, 2023 urged the international community to deliver on the commitments made at last year’s global climate change conference in Egypt and said the “world should use present economic and climate turbulence as an opportunity for a course correction”.
• Urges rethink of global financial architecture to make it pro-growth
• Asks overseas citizens to expose ‘anti-Pakistan propaganda’
• Meets Chinese premier, German chancellor, Brazilian president
• Decade of CPEC to be celebrated this year
3. Rs259bn grants okayed days before fiscal year’s close
• The government was compelled to sanction about Rs259 billion in supplementary grants just two working days before the fiscal year ends, mainly because of massive expenditure overruns by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
• The decision was taken at a meeting of the cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that approved Rs250bn supplementary funds for the provinces besides allowing the export of 32,000 tonnes of sugar by selected mills in Sindh.
• Presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the committee approved six supplementary grants worth Rs258.74bn, including Rs250bn for provinces that claimed this would not increase the fiscal deficit
4. Pakistan to make vaccine to eradicate sheep, goat plague
• In its quest to eradicate sheep and goat plague by 2028, Pakistan has obtained seed virus from the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development for local production of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) vaccine.
• The initiative will save Rs60 billion spent every year to fight sheep and goat plague.
• The seed virus, cell line and serum worth of 25,000 euros was delivered to the Ministry of National Food Security and Research by the FAO deputy representative, Farrukh Toirove, at a ceremony held in Islamabad on June 23, 2023.
• Centre for International Development (CIRAD) experts will train teams involved in the production of PPR vaccine
5. Import curbs lifted despite low reserves
• The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on June 23, 2023 relaxed the import restrictions imposed in December last year despite dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
• Earlier, the banks had been advised to prioritise certain types of imports under different categories in the wake of poor foreign exchange reserves and a large trade deficit.
• However, the latest decision that opens options for imports on a large scale was also taken when the country is struggling to avoid a default-like situation.
• `Given the representations received from various stakeholders, it has been decided to withdraw the above instructions (issued on Dec 27, 2022) with immediate effect,` said the SBP circular
