Return to home Pakistan
A to 2005 Pakistan B 2006-2010 Pakistan C 2011-2020
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Pakistan
arrested Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, a man accused of being a leader of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), an Islamist militant group blamed by the US
and India for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
   (Reuters, 1/2/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, In Pakistan gunmen
opened fire on a group of minority Shiite Hazara coal miners after
abducting them in southwestern Baluchistan province. 11 miners were
killed. The Islamic state claimed responsibility.
   (SFC, 1/4/21, p.A6)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, A court in Lahore,
Pakistan, abolished so-called virginity tests for women in sexual
assault cases, saying the practice is humiliating and casts
suspicion on victims rather than the accused.
   (NY Times, 1/6/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, In Pakistan
hundreds of Shiites blocked a key highway on the outskirts of Quetta
for a 2nd straight day to protest the killing of 11 coal miners by
the Islamic State group.
   (SFC, 1/5/21, p.A3)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, In Pakistan dozens
of Kashmiri activists rallied in Islamabad to urge the UN to ensure
Kashmir's right to self-determination under a decades-old resolution
on the disputed region.
   (AP, 1/5/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Ukrainian officials
said they have seized about 1 metric ton (1.1 tons) of heroin that
smugglers intended to take into European Union countries and that
four Turkish citizens have been detained in the case. The heroin
originated in Pakistan and came into the country via the Black Sea
port of Odesa.
   (AP, 1/6/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Pakistan's
counter-terrorism police and intelligence agency raided hideouts of
an outlawed Shiite militant group in the eastern Punjab province and
arrested seven suspects over the last 24 hours who allegedly wanted
to attack leaders of rival Sunni Muslims' groups. Shiites continued
their protest for the straight fifth day in Quetta over the Jan. 3
killing of coal miners.
   (AP, 1/7/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, A major technical
fault in Pakistan's power generation and distribution system caused
a massive power outage late today that plunged the country into
darkness. The Ministry of Energy said restoration of power to all
areas of the country would take some time.
   (AP, 1/10/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Pakistan announced
a new government-run instant digital payment system in a bid to
boost financial inclusion and government revenue in the country
where only a fraction of economic transactions occur on the books.
The new system, called "Raast" or "direct way", will be rolled out
in three phases culminating in early 2022.
   (Reuters, 1/11/20)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, It was reported
that Pakistani authorities have sacked a local police chief and 11
other policemen for failing to protect a Hindu temple that was set
on fire and demolished last Dec. 30 by a mob led by hundreds of
supporters of a radical Islamist party.
   (AP, 1/15/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Pakistan reported
a total of 514,338 coronavirus infections and 10,863 confirmed
deaths.
   (SFC, 1/16/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Pakistan said
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency use,
making it the first coronavirus vaccine to get the green light for
use in the South Asian country.
   (Reuters, 1/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, In Pakistan a team
of Nepalese climbers made history by scaling K2, the world's 2nd
highest peak, in the winter season.
   (SSFC, 1/17/21, p.A7)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Pakistan's Foreign
Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that China has agreed to provide
half a million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 free of cost
to Pakistan by January 31.
   (Reuters, 1/21/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Pakistan's supreme
ordered the immediate release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh (47) after
dismissing appeals to reinstate his conviction for killing Daniel
Pearl in 2002.
   (Reuters, 1/28/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, An Afghan official
said Manghal Bagh, a fugitive militant leader from Pakistan, was
killed by a roadside bomb along with two associates in Afghanistan.
Bagh led the outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam (Army of Islam) and carried a
$3 million US bounty.
   (SFC, 1/30/21, p.A3)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In Pakistan three
climbers were declared missing while attempting to climb K2, the
world's second highest mountain. On Feb. 18 officials said Ali
Sadpara, Jon Snorri and Juan Pablo Morh should now be considered
dead.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Sadpara)(SFC,
2/19/21, p.A5)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Pakistan's health
minister said CanSino Biologics Inc's (CanSinoBIO) COVID-19 vaccine
showed 65.7% efficacy in preventing symptomatic cases and a 90.98%
success rate in stopping severe disease in an interim analysis of
global trials.
   (Reuters, 2/8/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Pakistan said it
has approved Russia's Sputnik-V making it the third COVID-19 vaccine
to be approved for emergency use after China's Sinopharm and the
ones developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
   (Reuters, 2/9/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, It was reported
that Pakistan is to allow private companies to import coronavirus
vaccines and has agreed to exempt such imports from price caps, even
as the nation scrambles to secure supplies.
   (Reuters, 2/11/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Pakistan approved
China's CanSino Biologics Inc's (CanSinoBIO) COVID-19 vaccine for
emergency use.
   (Reuters, 2/12/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Pakistan
suspected militants ambushed a vehicle in Mir Ali carrying women aid
workers from a non-governmental organization in the North Waziristan
district, killing four of them and wounding the driver.
   (AP, 2/22/21)(SFC, 2/23/21, p.A3)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, India and Pakistan
reaffirmed their commitment to a ceasefire along their troubled
border.
   (SFC, 2/26/21, p.A2)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Pakistan signed a
landmark deal with Qatar for liquefied natural gas. The lower rates
will save Islamabad a total of about $3 billion over the next 10
years.
   (AP, 3/1/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Pakistani security
forces, acting on intelligence, raided a suspected hideout of a
separatist group in Baluchistan province, triggering a shootout that
killed five insurgents. The raid came hours after insurgents killed
a sailor and wounded two others in an attack on a Pakistani Navy
vehicle in Baluchistan.
   (AP, 3/8/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, A spokesman for
Pakistan's telecoms regulator said it will block the popular social
media app TikTok after a court order over a complaint that it runs
"indecent" content.
   (Reuters, 3/11/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Pakistan's Punjab
province announced the closure of 15 famous shrines amid a third
wave of the coronavirus.
   (SSFC, 3/14/21, p.A13)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Pakistani PM Imran
Khan (68) tested positive for COVID-19, two days after receiving his
first vaccine dose. Government officials urged people not to be
deterred from getting vaccinated.
   (Reuters, 3/20/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, In Pakistan two
men were sentenced to death for gang-raping a woman on the side of a
highway in Punjab last September, an attack that triggered
nationwide protests and calls for tougher laws.
   (Reuters, 3/20/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Pakistan launched
a five-day vaccination campaign against polio despite facing another
surge of coronavirus cases, the second anti-polio drive in 2021 as
the country struggles to eradicate the crippling children’s disease.
   (AP, 3/29/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Pakistan said it
will import Chinese Cansino Biologics COVID-19 vaccines in bulk to
package 3 million doses locally. Coronavirus cases have soared with
PM Imran Khan, Pres. Arif Alvi and Defense Minister Pervez Khattak
all testing positive. The country has recorded 14,356 deaths and
663,200 infections since the start of the pandemic.
   (Reuters, 3/30/21)(SFC, 3/31/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Pakistan reported
103 deaths from COVID-19, one of the highest single-day fatalities
since January.
   (AP, 4/6/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Russia’s foreign
minister said Moscow and Islamabad will boost ties in the fight
against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military
equipment to Pakistan and the two holding joint exercises at sea and
in the mountains.
   (AP, 4/7/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Pakistani police
said they found a mass grave containing the bodies of 16 coal miners
who went missing in the country's northwest in 2011 and were
believed abducted by militants.
   (AP, 4/9/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Pakistan briefly
blocked access to all social media after days of violent anti-French
protests across the country by radical Islamists opposed to cartoons
they consider blasphemous.
   (AP, 4/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, In Pakistan five
people were killed and about a dozen wounded in a suicide bombing in
the parking lot of the Serena hotel, in the southwestern city of
Quetta. The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said
it targeted a meeting of Pakistani and foreign officials. The
Chinese ambassador was in Quetta at the time of the attack.
   (AP, 4/22/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, Pakistan reported
144 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours. Total cases reached
784,108 and 16,842 deaths. PM Imran Khan summoned troops to help
police implement social distancing rules.
   (SFC, 4/24/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, Pakistan reported
157 coronavirus deaths, its highest toll in a single day. Overall
fatalities rose to 16,999 and total cases to 790,016.
   (SSFC, 4/25/21, p.A11)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, Pakistan said it
has purchased 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from three
Chinese companies. Total deaths crossed 17,680 with over 150 deaths
today and 5,480 coronavirus cases adding to a total of 815,711.
   (Reuters, 4/29/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Pakistan reported
146 more daily coronavirus deaths. The number reported brings the
country's overall death toll in the pandemic to 17,957.
   (AP, 5/1/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Pakistan received
its first supply of COVID-19 vaccines through the UN-backed COVAX
initiative, over 1.2 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca
vaccine. Researchers said a coronavirus variant first discovered in
the UK now accounts for up to 70% of COVID-19 infections across
Pakistan.
   (AP, 5/8/21)(Reuters, 5/8/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, Pakistan reported
118 more deaths and 3,785 new cases of COVID-19. Total deaths now
totaled nearly 19,000.
   (SFC, 5/10/21, p.A7)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, In southwest
Pakistan gunmen in two separate attacks ambushed vehicles carrying
paramilitary troops, killing at least three soldiers and wounding
five others before fleeing.
   (AP, 5/10/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, In southwestern
Pakistan a roadside bomb went off in Chaman near a vehicle carrying
a local leader of an Islamist political party killing seven people.
   (SFC, 5/22/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Pakistan's federal
authorities reported a decrease in COVID-19 deaths and new cases and
decided to reopen tourist resorts and schools but only for thse who
have either tested negative or got vaccinated. Sindh province has
opted to keep schools closed for another two weeks.
   (SFC, 5/24/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 26, Pakistan opened up
its coronavirus vaccination campaign to everyone aged 19 or older as
it scrambles to protect more of its 220 million people.
   (Reuters, 5/26/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Pakistan has
started producing the single dose Chinese CanSinoBio COVID-19
vaccine to be able to deliver 3 million doses a month. An initial
batch of 118,000 doses of the vaccine was ready to be delivered to
the government.
   (Reuters, 6/4/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, In Pakistan two
express trains collided early today, killing at least 51 passengers
and injuring 100 others in the southern province of Sindh.
   (NY Times, 6/7/21)(SFC, 6/8/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 9, Pakistani police
arrested Mufti Sardar Ali Haqqani, after a video of him went viral
on social media, in which he threatens Nobel Laureate Malala
Yousafzai over her recent comments about marriage.
   (AP, 6/10/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 11, In southwestern
Pakistan a bus carrying pilgrims overturned killing at least 20
people.
   (SFC, 6/12/21, p.A3)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, In Pakistan nine
police officers were suspended in Lahore after they jailed employees
of a restaurant that had refused to give them free burgers.
   (https://www.dawn.com/news/1629167)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Pakistan reported
that roughly 3 million pople have been vaccinated, less than 2% of
the population. New measures to encourage vaccination included
blocking people's cell phone services in two provinces and
suspending the salaries of some government employees who have not
been vaccinated.
   (SFC, 6/16/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, In Pakistan a car
bombing in Lahore killed three people and wounded 25. Days later
police had five suspects in custody in connection with the blast.
Investigators found evidence of involvement of the Indian secret
service in the attack.
   (AP, 6/26/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 27, Pakistan’s foreign
minister said that violence and lawlessness could reign in
Afghanistan after the United States' withdrawal, and that Pakistan
would shut its border to the country if the Taliban takes control of
it.
   (AP, 6/27/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Pakistan said it
has received 2.5 million doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine
from the United States.
   (Reuters, 7/2/21)