Pakistan: Major Events During Year 2020

 1. The government declared a national emergency to protect crops and help farmers from the large swarm of locust attack. (February 1)

Locust swarms first entered Pakistan in June 2019 from neighboring Iran and quickly devastated large areas of agricultural land across southwestern districts, ravaging cotton, wheat, maize and other crops. The damage prompted Pakistan, a country of 220 million people, to miss its production target for wheat by about 2 million tons, forcing the government to import the grain for the first time in almost 10 years. The low yields have pushed up the price of wheat and other food grains, pushing overall inflation to almost 10 percent in September piling political pressure on the government.

2. The first two cases of COVID-19 are reported in Pakistan. (February 26)

The first case was observed in Sindh while the second was highlighted in Islamabad. The government decided to immediately close the school so that there is no increase in the cases.

3. Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashed in Karachi, Sindh, killing 97 of the 99 people on board as well as one on the ground. (May 22)

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 was a scheduled domestic flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore to Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. The plane crashed in Model Colony, a densely populated residential area of Karachi a few kilometres from the runway, while on a second approach after a failed landing. 97 people were killed whereas two passengers survived with injuries. Eight people on the ground were also injured in the accident.

4. Pakistan Stock Exchange attack - A mass shooting in Karachi left at least 8 people dead including 4 perpetrators. (June 29)

Four gunmen attacked the Pakistani stock exchange in Karachi, killing two guards and a policeman and wounding seven others before being shot dead. The assailants launched a grenade attack at the main gate to the building and opened fire but police say they failed to make it to the trading floor.

5. Mohmand Marble Mine Incident - A mine disaster left at least 19 people dead and another 20 were injured. (September 7)

At least 19 people, most of them labourers, were dead and 20 others injured in a rockslide at a marble mine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mohmand tribal district. The incident occurred as a heavy boulder fell on locals working at a marble mine located at Ziarat Ghar mountain in Safi tehsil of Mohmand.

6. Unprecedented rains in Karachi (August)

In August, Sindh faced several moderate to heavy spells of rain. 484mm rain was recorded in Karachi, which was the highest record over the nine decades. The rainwater had overflowed from the drains flooding major causeways, residential and commercial locations. Long power outages and traffic jams greatly disturbed people’s lives for several days.