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September 15, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. M Qureshi heads to Kabul on first visit today
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is set to visit Kabul on September 14, 2018 (today) to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other senior officials during his maiden trip to any country after assuming his new responsibilities.
Mr Qureshi would meet President Ghani and other senior Afghan officials during his daylong visit to Kabul on September 14, 2018.
To underscore the importance of the trip, he said it would be Mr Qureshi`s first visit to Kabul (after becoming foreign minister) and it showed that Afghanistan was on top of Pakistan`s foreign policy.
On Sept 3, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani had phoned Mr Qureshi to greet him on his appointment as foreign minister. He also extended him an invitation to visit Kabul.
Marked improvement in relations has been observed since Islamabad and Kabul agreed to operationalise the AfghanistanPakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) the new bilateral ties framework that, according to the Foreign Office, provided the most comprehensive institutional mechanism to discuss all mutual issues.
2. Balochistan to take up NFC, CPEC issues with centre
The coalition government and the opposition in Balochistan have decided to take up long-standing issues with Islamabad which include delay in announcement of the 8th National Finance Commission (NFC) award, western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other problems facing the province .
An hours-long joint meeting was held on September 14, 2018 with Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani in the chair.
The meeting observed that the previous government had failed in protecting the interests of the province in CPEC projects, including the implementation of western route, setting up of industrial zones and other matters. The meeting resolved to approach the federal government to induct the Balochistan`s point of view while revisiting the process of CPEC projects. Terming the CPEC projects important for of the province`s development, participants of the meeting decided to evolve a joint stance on the implementation of CPEC projects.
3. Gilgit-Baltistan governor Ghazanfar Ali resigns
Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan resigned from his post on September 14, 2018.
Mr Khan, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), tendered his resignation to President Arif Alvi, the president has accepted Mr Khan`s resignation.
Mr Khan was elected a member of the GB Assembly from Hunza constituency in the June 8, 2015 election.
In November 2015, he was appointed GB governor by former president Mamnoon Hussain on the advice of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
After becoming governor Mr Khan had vacated his GB Assembly`s seat which was later won by his son, Mir Saleem Khan, in a by-poll.
Ghazanf ar Khan has also served as the GB`s chief executive from 2004 to 2009 during the regime of former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.
He contested elections several times from his hometown of Karimabad in Hunza and was returned five times as a member of the GB Assembly.
4. Mari Petroleum Company Ltd discovers oil in Balochistan
Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MPCL) has made the first-ever oil discovery in Chiltan and Moro/Mughal Kot Formations in Balochistan.
The company informed the PSX on September 14, 2018 that the Ziarat Joint Venture had made a new oil discovery well Bolan East-1 in Ziarat Block, near Mach City in Kachhi district of Balochistan.
MPCL is the operator with 60 per cent working interest while Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (Europe ) holds 40pc stake in the joint venture.
The company further observed in regard to the oil discovery that the well was spud-in on May 22, 2018 and successfully drilled down to the depth of 1,500 metres, with the objectives to test the hydrocarbon potential of Dunghanj, Moro/Moghul Kot and Chiltan Formation.
5. Sindh appoints first non-Muslim AG
The Sindh government has appointed the country’s first Christian Advocate General (AG).
Salman Talibuddin was appointed as Advocate General of Sindh on the terms and conditions as admissible under the rules with immediate effect, reads the notification of his appointment. Talibuddin is currently serving as an Additional Attorney General.
Previously, former advocate general Zameer Ghumro resigned from the post after remarks by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar.
September 15, 2018: International Current Affairs
6. Turkey pledges to support Pakistan on Kashmir at UN
Turkey has assured Pakistan of complete support in its quest for a peaceful solution to the long-standing issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
`In the group, which has been formed over Kashmir in the UN, we will stand with Pakistan and try to make [its efforts] successful,` the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference he jointly addressed with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi after a formal round of talks between the two sides on September 14, 2018.
He said it was Turkey`s desire that the Kashmir dispute involving India and Pakistan was resolved in a peaceful manner.
7. Koreas open joint liaison office in North
North and South Korea opened a joint liaison office in the Northern city of Kaesong on September 14, 2018 as they knit closer ties ahead of President Moon Jae-in`s visit to Pyongyang next week.
`A new chapter in history is open here today,` South Korean unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a ceremony, calling the office `another symbol of peace jointly created by the South and the North`.
The nuclear-armed North`s chief delegate Ri Son Gwon responded in kind, calling it a `substantial fruit nourished by the people of the north and south`.
The two Koreas have sought to pursue joint projects in multiple fields since the April summit between Moon and the North`s leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula, even as US ef forts to secure concrete progress towards Pyongyang`s denuclearisation have stalled.
Moon will fly to the North`s capital on Tuesday to meet with Kim as he seeks to rekindle the process.
8. Palestinian mission shuttered in Washington
The Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington ceased operations on September 14, 2018 following a demand by the United States to shut down but expressed hope the closure would be short-lived.
State Department officials ordered the office shuttered, in a bid to pressure the Palestinians to enter peace talks with Israel.
It was the latest point of tension between the administration of President Donald Trump and the Palestinians, who cut off contact with Washington after Trump recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel`s capital in December.
September 15, 2018: Sports Current Affairs
9. Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh opens Asia Cup September 15, 2018 (today)
Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who will kick off the latest edition of the Asia Cup, are grappling with injuries ahead of their game on September 15, 2018 (today).
For Bangladesh, talismanic all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan needs a surgery on his left little finger, but has pushed it back till after the Asia Cup; Tamim Iqbal, the senior opener, has a swollen right ring finger; Nazmul Hossain, the off-spinner, also has an injury in his bowling hand.
On to Sri Lanka now, and Danushka Gunathilaka has returned home even before the start of the tournament with a lower back problem, and has been replaced by Shehan Jayasuriya, the off-spinning all-rounder. Before the Gunathilaka-Jayasuriya swap came the news that Dinesh Chandimal is out with a finger injury – Niroshan Dickwella, the wicket-keeper batsman, has since replaced him.
10. Youssef, Rowan lift Int’l Squash men, women titles
Egyptian Youssef Soliman crowned $30,000 Serena Hotels Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) International Squash for Men 2018 champion as he stunned top seed Hong Kong’s Leo Au 3-2 in the final here at Mushaf Squash Complex on September 14, 2018
World junior squash champion and top seed Egyptian Rowan Elarby, 18, won the $10,000 International Squash Tournament for Women after thrashing compatriot Nada Abbas 3-0 in the final played here at Mushaf Squash Complex on September 14, 2018
