September 20 2022 Daily Top 10 Current Affairs 1. Groundwork laid for forceful plea at UNGA ©The high-level debate at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) began in New York ‘on September 19, 2022 with Pakistan telling the world haw climate change, pandemics and con- flicts were reversing progress and widening Inequalities around the globe, * Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister of State for Forelgn Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar represented Pakistan at the inaugural session of the high-level debate ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's arrival In New York an Manday evening. ©The PM will address the General Assembly on Sept 23. 0-Pak military cooperation halled * Chinese Defence Minister General Wel Fenghe on September 19, 2022 termed the Sino-Pak military cooperation an important pillar of bilateral ties. © The army chief arrived In the Chinese capital on Monday on a two-day official visit. In a meeting with army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in Beljing the Chinese minister sald his country greatly valued the time-tested relations with Pakistan and its army, a press release Issued by ISPR said. * The Chinese defence minister also sald that the development of CPEC was aimed at bringing more benefits and prosperity to the people of bath countries and termed the Pak-China military cooperation an “Important pillar of bilateral relations” 3. PA resolution slams PM for consulting ‘fugitive’ © The Punjab Assembly on September 19, 2022 adopted with a malarity vote a resolution seeking action against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under Article 6 of the Constitution for consulting a “fugitive* an the appointment of a new army chief and other ‘sensitive* natianal Issues. © The resolution tabled by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat quotes media reports as suggesting that Prime Minister Sharif consulted a fugitive in London on sensitive national Issues, Including the appointment of the army chief. 4, Punjab to revive magistracy system to control prices © Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and the administrative secretaries have agreed to revive executive magistraey system, giving magistrates summary powers to impose one to three years Imprisonment on those committing overcharging as a repeated offence. The chief minister was holding a maiden meeting with the administrative secretaries at Darbar Hall of the Civil Secretariat on September 19, 2022. 5. US will defend Taiwan if China invades it: Biden © President Joe Biden sald US fortes would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese Invasion, his most explicit statement on the issue, drawing an angry response from China that sald It sent the wrong signal to those seeking an independent Talwan. facebook.com/CSSTimes facebook.com/icepnetworkSeptember 20 2022 Daily Top 10 Current Affairs 6. Ukraine accuses Russia of strike on southern nuclear plant # Kyiv accused Russia on September 19, 2022 of attacking Ukraine's second-largest nuclear plant in ‘the south of the war scarred country, the latest burst of fighting araund atomic facilities that has ralsed fears of a radiation emergency. ©The Kremlin meanwhile dismissed outright claims that thelr forces had been responsible for mass killings In recently captured areas of east Ukraine and said Ukraine's claims it had discovered mass graves were made up. 7. \sraeli troops enter Syria to pursue “suspects” * Israell forces crossed into Syria on September 19, 2022 and fired at four individuals who had “hurled objects along the border fence’, wounding one of them, the army sald. Israel, which regularly carries out alr strikes Inside Syria's territory, rarely publicly acknowledges cross-border operations. * According to an Israeli army statement, ‘observation soldiers spotted four suspects" near Haspin In the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, without providing any specific Information on what they were throwing 8. UN chief warns education becoming ‘great divider” * UN Secretary General Antanio Guterres warned on September 151, 2022 that unequal education was quickly dividing the planet as he sought to keep development on the agenda ahead of a week of diplomacy focused on global crises. © The UN chief called a special summit on education a day before world leaders meet for the annual General Assembly, although a number of key officlals Including US President Joe Biden delayed thelr arrivals in New York due to Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. 9, Taliban release US national in exchange for key ally ‘An American navy veteran detained In Afghanistan since 2020 was released by the Taliban on ‘September 9, 2022 in exchange for an ally who spent 17 years In a US jail for heroin smuggling, Afghanistan's foreign minister said. © US President Joe Biden confirmed that Afghanistan had released an American engineer held prisoner for 31 months. ‘Today, we have secured the release of Mark Frerichs, and he will soon be home,’ Biden said ina statement, adding that the release ‘required difficult decisions". 10. How many ants are on Earth? 20 quadrillion, study says © There are at least 20 quadrillion ants on Earth, according to a new study that says even that staggering figure likely underestimates the total populatian of the insects, which are an essential part of ecosystems around the world. * Determining the global population of ants is important for measuring the consequences of changes to their habitat including those caused by climate change. facebook.com/CSSTimes facebook.com/icepnetwork@ DAILY NEWS WORLD TIMES INSTITUTE Tas) Tucan BOeSeptember 2022 1. ECP warns KP against use of govt resources for campaigning. 2. Punjab plans to enhance per capita police strength. 3. Pakistan has sufficient food stock for six months, says ministry, 4. Central banks worldwide are using aggressive interest rate hikes to lasso galloping inflation, at the risk of pulling down the global economy with it. 5. Fossil fuel reserves contain 3.5trn tonnes of C02, registry reveals. 6. Biden again says, US would defend Taiwan if@ DAILY NEWS WORLD TIMES INSTITUTE (hiavenetn arena Lt TUESDAY, 20=September2022) China attacks. 7. UN chief warns education becoming ‘great divider’. 8. Asia-Pacific sees 225m displacements in 11 years due to disasters: report samawain’s. MAGAZINE WORLD TIME Aspirants' #4 Choice For CSS Exam To guarantee you never miss a single issue, SUBSCRIBE HOW & Get FREE Wall Size Coloured Map 0362-5556802 WORLD TIMES | St aeFollow us and share it with your friends €}P @vworldtimesintiture © Oworldtimesinsta © @worldtimesinstl © @worldtimescssvideosDAWN GS Aires Sep 20 2022 Dawn Editorials Deprived of education THE fact that Afghanistan's Taliban rulers continue to disallow girls from attending secondary school indicates that the hard-line outfit remains wedded to its regressive worldview, despite promises of change. When the Taliban swept back to power just over a year ago, there were valid concerns that the group would again crack down on women’s rights. These fears were nat unfounded: while younger girls have been allowed to attend school, the older ones have been stopped from attending high school. The UN has termed the ban “tragic and shameful” and its secretary general has deplored the “year of lost knowledge and opportunity” for the girls. According to UN figures, over a million girls have been affected by the Taliban's short-sighted decision. Afghanistan's de facto rulers have claimed the ban is “temporary”, while adding that they need time to remodel the curriculum according to “Islamic lines”. Moreover, the regime's education minister has termed it a “cultural issue”, saying that many rural Afghans don’t want their teenage daughters to go to school. These excuses are mostly without merit. From a human rights, as well as a religious and cultural, perspective, the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education is indefensible. If the Taliban claim religious sanction for stopping older girls from learning, they Must be asked why Saudi Arabia and Iran — states run by feligious law — allow girls to attend high school. Moreover, while much of the Afghan population is conservative, the Taliban appear to be foisting their own vision upon the people. It is hard to believe that culturally appropriate educational institutions cannot be set up ta allow Afghan schoolgirls to continue their educa- tion. What is missing is the Taliban’s intention to educate girls. Furthermore, the high school ban makes no sense when wornen can attend universities, albeit with restrictions. Instead of coming up with lame excuses, Afghanistan’s rulers need to speedily open girls’ high schools, while Muslim states particularly should put pressure on the regime to do away with this archaic ban. www.csstimes.pk GEEZ Imes facebook.com/CsSTimes - Instagram.com/csstimesDAWN (CSS7Times| Sep 20 2022 Dawn Editorials Cluster approach HINDSIGHT, they say, is usually 20/20, But in the case of the flood disaster, the lessons of 2010 have not been learnt. Nowhere is this more evident than in the UN’s response: both the appeal and allocations made so far do not come close to the amount pledged and released to Islamabad in the aftermath of the 2010 floods. Although a flash appeal has generated $150m, the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund had only released $7m as of the first week of September, Compared to this, CERF allocations for various interventions in Pakistan in 2010 totalled nearly $52m. This included funding for WASH projects, emergency shelter, foad security, education, etc. While most of the UN system is still intact today, dozens of other agencies that supplemented the global body’s efforts have moved on from Pakistan. The ‘cluster approach’, which involved various agencies working in the same sector coordinati- ng their response for better allocation of resources, has also been absent. For example, a typical cluster meeting on shelter would include representatives from UN-Habitat, International Organ- isation for Migration, UNHCR, WFP, Unicef and other organisations with staff on the ground constantly feeding information to their teams in Islamabad. This means that facts being shared with decision-makers would enable the latter to determine where and how best to utilise the funds. Currently, UN-OCHA and the resident coordinator's office are working as a sort of secretariat to fill this role. But while such joint working groups keep in close contact with the relevant government bodies, a centralised system cannot reflect victims’ needs without input from those working on the ground. Regrettably, the previous PML-N government refused permission to scores of INGOs to operate here. While there may have been legitimate security cancerns, the fact is that today, the number of humanitarian agencies that helped in the 2010 effort stands halved. Then there are concerns about transparency; in 2010, international donors were concerned about whether their funds were being utilised properly, The concern remains today. The UN, and by extension the aid sector, must shift into high gear. Relief work is drawing to a close and the transition to rehabilitation and reconstruction must be swift and seamless. That cannot be accomplished unless needs assessments are completed and verified lists of potential beneficiaries prepared, This will be an extensive process, during which those displaced will be forced ta live with relatives, in camps or other improvised dwellings. It is time to rebuild the right way. www.csstimes.pk GEEZ Imes facebook.com/CssTimes - Instagram.com/csstimesDAWN CES Aine Sep 20 2022 Dawn Editorials Sharifs’ silence WITH the political environment in Pakistan fraught with uncertainty, the benign press statement from London has done little to ease the pressures gradually bullding up in Islamabad. Nothing new or of substance has been shared with the public since the prime minister met his older brother, PML-N ‘supreme leader’ Nawaz Sharif, for what was reportedly a ‘family only’ discussion. If the reports are accurate, even the PML-N federal ministers present in the city were not invited. We do know that important business was discussed, particularly the fate of the Punjab government — where the Sharifs seem to once again want to install their scion, Hamza Shehbaz, as chief minister — and the timing of the next general elections — which, they decided, will be held according to the offici- al schedule. However, instead of offering any insight into what is going on in their minds, or providing assurances that matters are under control, the Sharif brothers left even old questions unanswered. For exarnple, if the government is indeed intent on limping ta the next general elections, to be held in the latter part of next year according to the official schedule, what Is its strategy? How does it plan to steady the listing economy in the months it has when the man who should be leading that task has been tied down by his own party? Is he to be replaced, and by whom? if not, will he be allowed to do his job without worrying abaut fulminations from the Nawaz camp? Every day that passes in stasis inflicts further damage on the economy. Likewise, how does bringing Hamza Shehbaz back as Punjab chief minister help the instabllity? Will it not cause further chaos? What Is it apart fram another attempt by the PML-N to wrest back lost clout in the constituencies that have traditionally brought It ta power? Most importantly, how do the government and the PML-N plan to counter the resurgent Imran Khan, who has made It clear that he is not going to rest unless he is shown a path back to power? Will they, a8 some have threatened, unleash Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah to keep the PTI in check? How will they deal with the blowback if the party pushes back and the law-enforcement agencies once again go overboard in their response? Its clear that the Sharifs want to hold their cards very close to their chest. Such is the distrust prevalent in the party — split into camps asit is — that even the prime minister's cabinet Is being kept In the dark. This is hardly assuring. tis alarming that the government, while seeming intent on completing its tenure, has no clear plans for the future to share. With its own silence exacerbating the evaporation af faith in the government, the PML-N Is taking a strange path indeed. www.csstimes.pk GSA na) es facebook.com/CsSTimes - Instagram.com/csstimes