2021-Year in Review-10 Biggest Stories

2021 has been the year of hope, light, and success as the world learned to live with COVID this year.

In 2020, coronavirus introduced us to a world full of uncertainties, irreparable losses, and lockdown margining up the days together. However, in 2021, vaccines and medical knowledge allowed us to tackle the virus, somehow in a better way. 2021 can be called the year of healing and triumph as we encountered success in various fields.

Every day, a number of important events happen worldwide. 2021 is full of such viral stories. Some are quite interesting seeking everyone’s attention while others are just dry. Some stories relate to serious issues while others are just comical.

In this article, you will find some unforgettable stories that made the headlines in 2021. These stories are from different areas i.e., political, social, international, sports, and entertainment, providing you with a short and quick recap of the year 2021.

Let’s go through a quick recap of 2021 before stepping into and welcoming the new year 2022.

Sports

1. The unforgettable performance of the Pakistan Cricket team in the world cup 2021

2021 has been the year of success for the Pakistani cricket team. Under the captaincy of Babar Azam, the emphatical success of the Pakistani cricket team in the group matches surprised everyone. Although the team was knocked out in the semifinal by Australia, still the efforts the entire team put in the world cup 2021 were worth appreciating.

From Babar Azam’s captaincy to Mohmmad Rizwan’s wicket keeping, from the comeback of Asif Ali to the sixes of Shoaib Malik, from impressive fielding to excellent batting order, everything made the impactful, positive, and newsworthy headlines throughout the world cup 2021.

2. Security issues of New Zealand Cricket team

This has been the top story and one of the hot issues in September 2021. The New Zealand cricket team (NZC) scheduled the matches in Pakistan. The NZC said that they were facing some security issues and received a security alert from their government. The team backed out at the eleventh hour, disappointing PCB and Pakistani cricket fans.

The interior minister of Pakistan elaborated that the Pakistan government had not received any threat. Even the Prime Minister of Pakistan assured NZC that foolproof security arrangements have been made for the series and there is no security threat.

But NZC backed out from the series with its unilateral approach towards security issues.

Entertainment

3. The remarkable success of the drama PARIZAAD

Parizaad has been a successful drama getting its place at the top of the list of best dramas 2021. The drama has broken the typical stereotypes as the story revolves around a man, rather than traditional stories oriented towards weepy women.

The serial reflects the notion of our society towards the personality of men. The bitter judgmental realities associated with skin color and the bank balance of a man are realistically portrayed in the serial. Above all, this drama highlighted the acting skills of lead actor Ahmed Ali Akbar who was quite underrated before Parizaad.

The unparallel appreciation and attention this drama received made it worth mentioning in the unforgettable stories of 2021.

4. Nida Yasir Formula 1 Controversy

A video clip of morning show host Nida Yasir went viral on social media this year in which she was interviewing the two brilliant Pakistani students who won the competition and made a Formula One racing car in a US-based competition.

The host asked about the formula while the students kept on saying that it’s not a formula, it’s a racing car named Formula 1 instead. That also became the best meme of the year.

Netizens trolled Nida Yasir for her lack of research before taking interviews. A number of memes published on Twitter in this regard made this matter a trending one.

Health

5. Availability of COVID Vaccines

Throughout 2020, the world struggled to win the battle against coronavirus. Although this battle against the pandemic is still going on, 2021 can be called a sign of renewal and recovery in this regard.

In 2021, COVID vaccines became available to almost everyone. The vaccination process in Pakistan took its speed as 31% of Pakistan’s population has been fully vaccinated by the end of 2021.

6. Emerging Omicron variant

Although in 2021, COVID vaccines brought life nearly back to normal, the new variant of coronavirus named Omicron has been detected. By the end of 2021, Pakistan has registered a total of 75 cases of Omicron in different cities.

Although, this variant is newly detected, and therefore, very little is known about it yet. However, WHO has warned not to take this variant as a mild one.

Tragedies

Coming towards the tragic and terrible stories of 2021 in Pakistan, Balochistan suffered a lot and remained in the headlines this year.

7. Balochistan Earthquake

On 7 October 2021, an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit an area of Balochistan occupied by locals around the city Hernai. This incident left everyone with sorrow and grief as 27 people were killed. 15 people were missing while 300 were injured. The depth was estimated between 9Km to 20Km.

Residents were asleep at 3:00 am when the earthquake collapsed their homes destroying more than 100 homes made up of mud. Severe damage was reported in different districts and cities of Balochistan i.e., Hernai District, Shahrug area, Quetta and Sibbi.

8. Balochistan Terrorist Attacks

It would not be wrong to say that 2021 made Balochistan suffer a lot. In September 2021, terrorist attacks in different areas of Balochistan killed a total of six security personnel. These attacks include bombing at Quetta Serena Hotel on 21^st April, Quetta attacks on 26^th August, and Balochistan attack on 31^st May.

Environment

9. Smog and Lahore AQI

Smog has been the terrible story of 2021 for Lahore. The city suffered from worse conditions of smog this year as the air quality index of the city exceeded 900. The environment of Lahore made it to the top of headlines as it seemed like Lahore is a lounge of smokers.

The worst thing about smog is that it affects people both in active and passive ways. Increasing air pollution and resulting smog caused a number of accidents on highways, which is of course a direct impact. Indirectly, it affected our lives in many ways. The government was forced to shut down educational institutions in November due to increasing smog.

We should work to make our environment clean to not to encounter this horrifying story of smog in the coming year.

10. Inflation

Inflation has been the story of every Pakistani this year. The inflation rate in Pakistan reached 11.5% in 2021, which was the highest ever in the past 2 years. Pakistanis suffered a lot as this rising inflation rate resulted in the worst economic conditions.

From petrol to food items, from gold to cars, everything got expensive in 2021. Prices of these items skyrocketed by the end of 2021, leaving people helpless. As the rates of basic commodities increased, people demanded the government increase their salaries. This chaos remained the consistent part of 2021.

Every day, the rising prices of different items appeared in news headlines throughout 2021. We wish not to see this headline in 2022.

2021 was full of newsworthy events, some of which were horrifying and terrible, others were pleasant and delightful. Some stories were great to be laughed at while some drew our keen attention.

One of the devastating stories that haven’t left us even today is the brutal killing of Noor Mukadam. However, the good thing is that the case is still in court. We hope it gets sorted soon and the primary accused in the case, Zahir Jaffer reach his end.

We hope to see 2022 full of bright events. May the coming year bring success and development to our beloved country Pakistan.

Yumna Zahid Butt

Writing permits me to be more than I am. My secret to becoming a writer is to write, write, and keep on writing.