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Context
- Imran Khan's term as Prime Minister of Pakistan came to an end on April 10, 2022, after days of constitutional upheaval in Pakistan left him with little choice but to be voted out or resign.
Overview of the crisis
- On April 11th, 2022, the lower house of Pakistan's parliament will convene to elect a new acting prime minister for the country.
- This is the first time in Pakistan that a no-confidence motion against the country's prime minister has been successful.
- Imran Khan was chosen as Pakistan's Prime Minister in 2018.
- No Pakistani prime minister has been able to finish a five-year tenure since the country's independence in 1947.
How did Imran Khan lose his seat?
- After blocking a similar attempt earlier, Imran Khan was voted out.
- To be approved, the no-confidence resolution must receive 172 votes out of the 342-seat parliament.
- 174 legislators voted in favour of Khan's no-confidence motion.
- After Pakistan's Supreme Court determined that Khan behaved unconstitutionally by stopping the previous process and dissolving parliament, the motion was carried.
- The Supreme Court restored the country's parliament on April 7, 2022, after President Arif Alvi dissolved it on Imran Khan's request.
- Khan has accused the opposition of working with the US to topple him, and he has urged his supporters to protest.
Imran Khan's fall from grace
- Allies of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have deserted him.
- This deprives Khan of the necessary majority to defeat the no-confidence vote.
- He also lost the support of the country's military outside of parliament.
- Khan won the election in 2018 with the military's help, according to the opposition.
- Khan and the military had a falling out over senior official appointments and other policy issues.
- In addition, opposition groups such as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) have upped their efforts to depose Khan.
- Khan's allies turned against him, and a developing economic crisis in the country forced him to step down.
What exactly is the issue?
- Public anger:
- Pakistan's economy was already in a state of flux, which Khan has failed to address.
- He's been accused of mismanaging the economy and foreign affairs of the country.
- The military's position in Pakistan:
- When Khan came to power, he enjoyed the military's full support.
- Pakistan's powerful military is thought to have abandoned backing for the government as pressure on Khan increases.
- Problems within the party:
- Khan's government has lost support as cabinet officials resigned ahead of the crucial no-confidence vote.
The history of political crisis in Pakistan
- Political instability has always plagued the country, which has alternated between military and civilian authority.
- Reforms that may have revolutionised the country and boosted its economy were repeatedly postponed because they would have jeopardised the ruling elite's privileges and authority.
- The influence of global and regional changes complicates efforts to address persisting economic, governance, and security concerns.
- Pakistan's political history has been characterised by governance failures and the governing elite's reluctance to reform.
- Pakistan's current hybrid administration is democratic in name only, not in practise.
- Extra-parliamentary forces have a long history of manipulating elections to influence outcomes.
What is the way forward?
- To revitalise Pakistan's economy, it is necessary to concentrate on
- It must recognise that China is solely present for economic advantage, and appropriate measures must be taken as a result.
- The degree of political stability or instability in Pakistan in the future will be determined by solutions to the problems of mass illiteracy and economic inequity, as well as the imperatives of national integration and national security.
- Support from the IMF and friendly countries like Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Arab Emirates will only provide its damaged economy some breathing room in the short run.
- Pakistan must stop sponsoring terrorism and terrorist operations, as the Pakistani people are becoming the primary victims of their policies.
https://newsonair.gov.in/Spotlight.aspx#
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-political-crisis-live-updates-april-11/liveblog/90767176.cms
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/imran-khan-pakistan-political-crisis-live-updates-april-11-2022-101649643137857.html
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pakistan-political-crisis-the-main-entities-who-fueled-the-ouster-of-imran-khan/article65308941.ece
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/10/pakistans-political-crisis-all-you-need-to-know
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-political-crisis-imran-khan-pakistan-news-what-pakistans-political-upheaval-means-for-india-rest-of-the-world-2874761
NEWS IN BRIEF : PRELIMS SPECIAL
State Energy and Climate Index
- Gujarat topped the list for larger states in the NITI Aayog's State Energy and Climate Index–Round 1, which assessed States and Union Territories (UTs) on a variety of criteria.
- The States have been divided into larger and smaller States and UTs based on their size and geographical variations.
- The index is based on data from 2019-20.
- It assigns a score to each state based on six criteria:
- DISCOM’s Performance
- Access, Affordability and Reliability of Energy
- Clean Energy Initiatives
- Energy Efficiency
- Environmental Sustainability; and
- New Initiatives
- The parameters are broken down even further into 27 indicators. Based on the SECI Round I composite score.
- Front Runners, Achievers, and Aspirants are the three categories of states and UTs.
- In the category of larger States, Gujarat, Kerala, and Punjab were the top three performers, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh were the lowest three.
- In the smaller States category, Goa came out on top, followed by Tripura and Manipur.
- Chandigarh, Delhi, and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the best-performing UTs in the country.
- Punjab ranked first in discom performance, whereas Kerala ranked first in access, affordability, and reliability.
- Haryana was the best performer among larger states in the clean energy initiative, and Tamil Nadu was the best performer in the energy efficiency category.
https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=NITI-Aayog-launches-State-Energy-and-Climate-Index%2c-SECI--Round-One&id=438988
Anti-tank guided missile HELINA
- India has successfully test-fired the Helina anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), which was developed in-house.
- The Helina anti-tank guided missile system is a third-generation fire-and-forget system placed atop the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
- The Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad developed it as part of the DRDO's Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS) cluster.
- The HELINA weapon systems were created with the Indian Army in mind.
- The Indian Air Force (IAF) has also developed a variant known as 'Dhruvastra.'
- With conventional and explosive reactive armour, the Helina system can knock out enemy tanks in all weather conditions, day and night.
- The missile is capable of engaging targets in both direct-hit and top-attack modes.
- The missile's maximum range is around 7 kilometres.
- The existing anti-tank missiles produced by DRDO are Nag and Helina.
- The Nag missile is an anti-tank missile launched from the Nag missile carrier, or Namica, which is a modified infantry combat vehicle.
- Helina, on the other hand, is a helicopter-launched anti-tank missile that can be fired from India's own Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=India-successfully-flight-tests-Anti-Tank-Guided-Missile-HELINA&id=438958
'e-BCAS project'
- The Civil Aviation Ministry's Parliamentary Consultative Committee met in New Delhi and the e-BCAS project was the topic of debate.
- The National Aviation Security Program is established, developed, implemented, maintained, and reviewed by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
- It also protects civil aviation operations from unlawful intervention and threat, while also ensuring flight safety, regularity, and efficiency.
- It has now embarked on e-BCAS, an e-Governance effort aimed at automating internal operations.
- This will be an online platform for stakeholders to collaborate.
- It will take advantage of existing processes and organisational structure to make all actions more visible, user-friendly, and efficient.
- Through technological integration across many divisions and procedures, it will digitise office processes, promote speedy approvals, and assure ease of doing business.
https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Parliamentary-Consultative-Committee-holds-meeting-in-New-Delhi%2c-discusses-%26%2339%3be-BCAS-project%26%2339%3b&id=438961
Sangeet Natak Akademi
- Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Sangeet Natak Awards for the year 2018 and National Awards of Lalit Kala Akademi to eminent artists at a special function held in New Delhi.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship was given to four artists while 40 others were honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards. Lalit Kala Akademi Awards were given to 23 personalities including three fellows.
- The four fellows, who have been awarded with Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, are Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, Jatin Goswami, Dr. Sonal Mansingh and Thiruvidaimarudur Kuppiah Kalyanasundaram.
- They have been honoured for their eminent contribution in the field of the Performing Arts.
- The Lalit Kala Akademi has awarded the prestigious Fellowships to three outstanding artists Himmat Shah, Jyoti Bhatt and Shyam Sharma.
- The Sangeet Natak Akademi is India's national academy for music, dance and drama.
- It was created by a resolution of the (then) Ministry of Education, Government of India, in 1952 with Dr P.V. Rajamannar as its first Chairman.
- It is presently an Autonomous Body of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and is fully funded by the Government for implementation of its schemes and programmes.
- The Akademi establishes and looks after institutions and projects of national importance in the field of the performing arts. Few important ones are:
- National School of Drama, New Delhi was set up in 1959,
- Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy in Imphal- 1954,
- Kathak Kendra (National Institute of Kathak Dance) in New Delhi- 1964.
- National Projects of Support toKutiyattam (Sanskrit theatre of Kerala), Chhau dances of eastern India, Sattriya traditions of Assam, etc
https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Venkaiah-Naidu-confers-Sangeet-Natak-Akademi-Fellowship-and-Sangeet-Natak-Awards-for-year-2018&id=438840
