Pakistan Current Affairs

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on December 13, 2022 performed the groundbreaking of the 306-kilometre Sukkur-Hyderabad section of the M6 motorway, which would mark the completion of the Karachi-Peshawar motorway corridor connecting major cities. Speaking at a ceremony in Sukkur afterwards, the premier said the 306-kilometre M6 motorway project — announced by former prime minister Imran Khan in April last year and estimated to cost Rs307bn, or Rs1bn per kilometre — would be completed in 30 months.

The Police Order 2002 was enforced in Islamabad after 20 years. It was promulgated in August 2002 but was not enforced in Islamabad due to bureaucratic hurdles. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) took suo motu notice of the matter in March 2023 and directed the federal government to enforce the Police Order in Islamabad. The government complied with the court’s order and the Police Order was enforced in Islamabad on May 13, 2023.

British conservative newspaper Mail on Sunday, on December 8, 2022, issued an apology to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over a 2019 article, in which it had alleged that he had siphoned off British aid money meant for earthquake victims. The development is being billed as a symbolic victory for both the ruling PML-N and PM Shehbaz, and comes on the heels of a defamation case initiated by Mr Sharif against the paper in the United Kingdom in 2020.

According to a report by Goldman Sachs, Pakistan is projected to be the 6th largest economy in the world by 2075. The report, titled “The Path to 2075,” projects that Pakistan’s real GDP will grow at an average annual rate of 5.5% between 2022 and 2075, which is faster than the average growth rate of 4.3% for the world economy. The report attributes Pakistan’s strong growth potential to a number of factors, including its young and growing population, its strategic location, and its abundant natural resources.

Dr. Asad Majeed Khan is a career Pakistan Foreign Service Officer. Ambassador Dr. Asad Majeed Khan assumed charge as 31st Foreign Secretary of Pakistan on December 2, 2022. During a diplomatic career spanning over 34 years, Ambassador Khan has held several key diplomatic assignments. He served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Japan (2017-19) and to the United States (2019-22). He was most recently Pakistan’s Ambassadorto Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union.

The Punjab province became the first province in the country to launch a Web 3.0 portal. The portal was launched on November 30, 2022, by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). The portal aims to promote the use of Web 3.0 technologies in the province.