Day by Day Current Affairs (June 23, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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June 23, 2018

1. Cabinet sanctions tax amnesty scheme

• The caretaker government has endorsed the amnesty scheme introduced by the PML-N government, and has approved the rules issued in the plan.
• The decision was taken by the federal cabinet at a meeting held at the PM Office with Caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk in the chair.
• `Government of Pakistan`s US Dollars Denominated Amnesty Bonds Rules, 2018 were approved by the cabinet,` said an official press release issued by the PMO.
• Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had announced the amnesty scheme in January this year, encouraging Pakistanis to declare their foreign assets.
• The government had also offered reduced rates to broaden the tax base and address the challenges to the economy.
• The scheme a one-time allowance was approved by both the Senate and the National Assembly.
• In a separate decision, the federal cabinet approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Pakistan and Sudan for cooperation in human resource development.

2. Marvi Memon removed as BISP chairperson

• As demanded by two mainstream political parties, the caretaker government on June 22, 2018 removed chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Marvi Memon from her office.
• A notification issued by the government said Ms Memon had been removed from her office.
• Former MNA Memon, served as head of the BISP for over three years replacing Enver Baig in Feb 2015.

3. SBP launches deposit protection mechanism

• The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on June 22, 2018 launched the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC) to provide protection for the depositors in the event of a bank failure.
• The DPC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBP and is a deposit protection mechanism for depositors. The protected amount has been determined to be Rs250,000 per depositor per bank.
• The establishment of DPC was envisaged as one of the important objectives in SBP`s strategic plan 2016-2020 under the strategic goal titled `strengthen the financial system stability regime`. The idea of introducing deposit insurance was first introduced through the IMF facility that Pakistan signed in November 2008. It has been a work in progress ever since.
• The financial system faced a severe liquidity crunch in those days, prompting extraordinary steps from the SBP to shore it up. Even though a bank failure did not occur, the experience was enough to put deposit protection onto the policy radar.
• Establishment of a formal deposit protection scheme will be beneficial for Pakistan as it will build up sizable funds, through premium payments from banks that can be used to provide immediate liquidity to small depositors in case of a bank failure.

4. Ali Jahangir presents credentials to President Trump

• Pakistan’s new Ambassador to the United States Ali Jahangir Siddiqui presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump.
• He assumed charge as ambassador to the United States on 30^th May 2018.
• Earlier in March 2018, Ali Jahangir, son of a famous banker and businessman Jahangir Siddiqui, had been appointed as Pakistan’s envoy to the United States (US).
• He was appointed as the special assistant to Prime minister last year. He had given the status of minister of State.
• The newly appointed ambassador to the US has been named among the Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum 2014. Ali Jahangir holds degree the in Economics from Cornell University, US.

5. Musharraf resigns as APML chairman

• Newly named chief Dr Amjad says Mush to remain patron-in-chief
• Former military president general (retd) Pervez Musharraf has resigned as chairman of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).
• Verdict was later challenged on Musharraf’s behalf in the Supreme Court, which had issued a directive earlier this month allowing him to file his nomination papers only if he returned and was present in the court hearing on June 13 in Lahore, cautioning that the fate of the papers would be subject to the final decision in the present case.

6. Pakistan has done enough, Islamabad tells Washington

• Pakistan has told the United States that it had done enough against terror and being ‘on notice’ was unfair.
• Senior officials at the foreign ministry told that Pakistan had contacted the US and protested after Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice Wells’ statement that Pakistan was still ‘on notice’.
• One official said: “We have told the US that Pakistan had done enough against terrorism and it deserved medals rather than notices.” He added: “Washington has appreciated Pakistan’s role against terrorism but repeated the ‘do more’ mantra.”
• Earlier, Wells said Pakistan was still on notice on the question of taking decisive action against terror outfits. She asked Pakistan to work towards elimination of all terrorist sanctuaries from its territory

7. Cabinet accepts Baitul Mal MD’s resignation

• An official statement said the cabinet accepted the resignation of Managing Director Pakistan Baitul Mal Barrister Abid Waheed Sheikh and approved the giving additional charge of Baitul Mal to the additional secretary Cabinet Division.

8. UNHCR appreciates Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan refugees

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has appreciated the people and government of Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan refugees for the last four decades.
• UNHCR’s Representative, Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, urged international community to support Afghan refugees and their host communities in Pakistan.
• German Development Cooperation Country Director in Pakistan, Tobias Becker said, Germany is committed to continue its support to Pakistan in managing one of the most protracted refugee situations in the world.

9. Greece hails ‘historic’ deal to end debt crisis

• Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on June 24, 2018 hailed an agreement by Eurozone ministers that will put an end to the country’s eight-year bailout program as an “historic” step.
• Eurozone states declared the severe debt crisis that has weighed heavy on the country since 2010 to be over, allowing Athens to escape some of the supervision of its creditors from August.
• Wearing a tie for the first time since becoming prime minister in 2015 after pledging to wear one only when Greece’s debt was cut Tsipras told a celebratory meeting of coalition lawmakers on Friday night that the country could return to being a “social state”.
• Coming nearly a decade after Greece’s finances spun out of control, sparking three bailouts and threatening the country’s euro membership, he earlier declared the deal as an “historic agreement”.

10. Pakistan vs India opens Champions Trophy’s last edition

• The 37th and last edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy will kick off in grand manner as Pakistan take on arch-rivals India June 23, 2018 at the BH & BC Breda in Netherlands.
• World’s best six teams compete in the Champions Trophy and this year’s line-up include reigning Olympic champions Argentina, world no.1 Australia, Belgium, hosts Netherlands, Pakistan besides India. Even though India (6th) are way ahead of Pakistan (13th) in the world rankings, but there is hardly any gap between the two teams when it comes to the head-to-head contests.
• It is the final edition of the Champions Trophy and Pakistan have the inaugural title of the competition to their name.