Here’s the daily dose of news for an average Pakistani to catch up on. 1. Imran Khan hosts Sialkot tragedy hero at PM House:
What happened: Malik Adnan, who risked his life to save a Sri Lankan man from being lynched in Sialkot last week, will meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Tuesday. The protocol: Adnan will be staying at the Prime Minister’s House, which is reserved for foreign guests. The hero reached Islamabad early today. Shehbaz Gill, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, and other senior officials greeted him. According to the communications ministry, a ceremony will be performed in his honour to recognise his bravery and chivalry. On Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan praised Adnan for his moral courage and bravery in attempting to save his colleague’s life, and announced that he would be awarded the Tamgha-e-Shujaat. Why it matters: Adnan was praised across the country for his bravery in attempting to save the Sri Lankan manager Priyantha Diyawadanage from a lynch mob. On Saturday, a heartwarming footage of Adnan making desperate attempts to save the man from the vicious mob made rounds on social media. 2. Samsung’s TV plant production is now operational in Karachi:
What happened: Samsung Electronics, the South Korean technology giant, has opened its first TV line-up plant in Karachi, in collaboration with a local firm, R&R Industries. Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood made the announcement on Monday. The plant: Mr. Dawood tweeted on Monday congratulating Samsung Electronics for setting up their first TV-plant in Pakistan. The unit would first make 50,000 TV sets before expanding to 100,000 units in two years. Mr Dawood stated that the engagement was in keeping with the Ministry of Commerce’s Make-in-Pakistan policy. “I urge all of our companies to form partnerships with leading international companies to establish operations in Pakistan,” the adviser added in a tweet. 3. A cleric has been jailed in Peshawar for sexually assaulting a minor boy:
What happened: For harassing a little boy earlier this year, a child protection court sentenced a cleric named Qari Habibur Rehman to ten years in prison and a fine of Rs1 million, on Monday. Details: On March 16, 2021, the accused was charged with sexually assaulting a minor boy at a seminary. Peshawar’s Inqilab police station found him guilty under sections 53 (child sexual abuse) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act and section 377 (unnatural sexual crime) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The court ordered that if the criminal did not pay the fine, he would be sentenced to another year in prison. 4. Balochistan bans illegal fishing
What happened: On Monday, illegal fishing by trawlers from other provinces and foreign nations in Balochistan’s coastal areas has been banned with immediate effect by the Baloch government. Why it matters: Official sources said that the government had begun to meet the demands of Gwadar’s on-going “Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek” protest movement. According to them, Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo has issued directions on the subject. According to officials from the Balochistan government, the DG Fisheries headquarters has been relocated from Quetta to Gwadar to address the difficulties of local fishermen. The progress: All liquor shops in Gwadar, according to officials, have been closed. Gadani has been fully turned over to the district government, with all interventions halted. A border market in Mand, close the Pakistan-Iran border, has been constructed with the help of the federal government. They have also started working on creating border markets in several Makran division regions. The federal government has also set up Rs600 million for the project’s completion. Besides this, Gwadar University’s vice chancellor has been chosen, and classes are set to begin soon. 5. Two army pilots and a crew member martyred in a helicopter crash:
What happened: In a helicopter crash in Siachen on Monday, two army pilots and a crew member embraced martyrdom. The crash: Major Irfan Bercha and Major Raja Zeeshan Jahanzeb, both pilots were martyred in the crash. It was on a routine visit when it crashed while refuelling and returned to battalion headquarters. Army troops and search and rescue helicopters arrived at the scene. The Ecureuil helicopter crashed near the headquarters of the 10th Northern Light Infantry Battalion at Arif Post in Pyon Sector. 6. Sindh witnesses an increase in girl child marriages:
What happened: Despite the Child Marriage Restraint Act being in place since 2013, Sindh had an overall increase in girl child marriages from 2014-15 to 2018-19, with Jacobabad topping the list. The report: Except for Malir, all zones/sub-districts of Karachi’s most metropolitan district and Tando Allahyar, Ghotki and Hyderabad being mentioned in the list, an upsurge was seen in girl child marriages under the age of 18. Only a few cases of child marriages are reported to the authorities. According to the study, 22% of women aged 20-24 reported having married before their 18th birthday in 2018-19, while 7.5 percent claimed getting married before they turned 15 years old. What else: According to the survey, Sindh’s maternal mortality rate, which is linked with child marriage, remains high. 7. Pakistan and India have started issuing visas to each other’s diplomats
What happened: Pakistan and India have started to issue visas to each other’s diplomats and officials for the second time now. Details: After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) semi-autonomous status to tighten his grip on the territory on August 5, 2019, official visas were issued for the second time, provoking outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties as well as the suspension of bilateral trade. The visas: According to sources, visas were issued based on applications filed till October. Twenty Pakistani diplomats and officials have been granted visas by India, while six Indians have been granted visas by Pakistan. 8. Agha Siraj Durrani sentenced to judicial remand:
What happened: In a case involving the ownership of Rs1.61 billion in illegitimate assets, an Accountability Court in Karachi sentenced Pakistan People’s Party leader and Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Khan Durrani to prison on Monday. Details: Speaker Durrani allegedly vanished on October 13 after the Sindh High Court revoked bail granted to him and ten co-accused in the current case. Mr Durrani was presented before Judge Dr Sher Bano Karim of the Accountability Court-III on Monday by the investigating officer. The court was informed by Special Public Prosecutor Zahid Hussain Baladi that he was taken into custody outside the Supreme Court, which had ordered him to surrender to the trial court to pursue the matter while hearing his motion for pre-arrest bail on December 3. The verdict : The prosecutor claimed that his physical detention in NAB custody for interrogation was unnecessary and demanded that he be sent to prison on judicial remand. The judge delayed the hearing and placed the speaker in judicial detention until December 23.