PPSC Past Papers 2026 Solved

Correct answer: Quaid-e-Azam. Muhammad Ali Jinnah resigned from the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919 in protest against the Rowlatt Act.

Background: The Rowlatt Act allowed detention without trial.

• Allama Iqbal: Allama Iqbal was not a member of the Council at that time.
• Liaqat Ali: Liaqat Ali Khan was not a member of the Council at that time.
• Sikandar Hayat: Sikandar Hayat was not a member of the Council at that time.

Did you know? The Jallianwala Bagh massacre followed on 13 April 1919.

Memory trick: Rowlatt 1919 → Jinnah resigns.

Correct answer: Lahore. The Badshahi Mosque stands in Lahore and was built by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1673.

Background: It was built opposite the Lahore Fort.

• Agra: Agra is known for the Taj Mahal.
• Peshawar: Peshawar is known for Mahabat Khan Mosque.
• Thatta: Thatta is known for Shah Jahan Mosque.

Did you know? For about 300 years it was the largest mosque in the world by capacity.

Memory trick: Badshahi = Aurangzeb = Lahore.

Correct answer: 1953. Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra presented the Bogra Formula in 1953.

Background: It proposed a two-house legislature, with equal representation of the two wings.

• 1951: 1951 is not the year.
• 1954: 1954 is not the year.
• 1955: 1955 is not the year.

Did you know? It was an attempt to settle the constitutional deadlock.

Memory trick: Bogra = 1953.

Correct answer: Karachi. Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan, with about 20 million people in the 2023 census.

Background: Karachi is also Pakistan’s main port and commercial hub.

• Lahore: Lahore is the second-largest city.
• Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi is smaller.
• Peshawar: Peshawar is smaller.

Did you know? It was Pakistan’s first capital.

Memory trick: Largest = Karachi.

Correct answer: 50% overall. Under the updated 2021 NDC pledge for 2030, Pakistan committed to a 50% overall reduction in projected GHG emissions (15% using national resources unconditionally, and 35% conditional upon international financial support).

Background: NDCs are climate action plans submitted under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

• 60% / 70% / 80%: Exceed the target specified in the 2021 NDC framework.

Did you know? Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions yet remains highly vulnerable to climate change.

Memory trick: 2021 NDC = 50% by 2030 (15% self + 35% help).

Correct answer: Pakistan. Pakistan became the first Muslim country with nuclear weapons after its tests in May 1998.

Background: The tests were carried out at Chagai on 28 and 30 May 1998.

• Turkey: Turkey does not have nuclear weapons.
• Iran: Iran does not have nuclear weapons.
• Egypt: Egypt does not have nuclear weapons.

Did you know? 28 May is observed as Youm-e-Takbeer.

Memory trick: First Muslim nuclear power = Pakistan.

Correct answer: Quaid-e-Azam. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah led the Muslim League in accepting the Cabinet Mission Plan on 6 June 1946.

Background: The plan proposed a loose united India with three groups of provinces.

• Allama Iqbal: Allama Iqbal died in 1938.
• Sir Syed: Sir Syed died in 1898.
• Liaqat Ali: Liaqat Ali Khan was a League leader but the acceptance was announced by Jinnah.

Did you know? Jinnah withdrew the acceptance in July 1946 after statements by Congress leaders.

Memory trick: Cabinet Mission 1946 → Jinnah accepts.

Correct answer: 2nd. Gwadar is described as the second monument of Pakistan–China friendship, after the Karakoram Highway.

Background: The Karakoram Highway is considered the first great symbol of the friendship.

• 4th: Fourth is not the usual ranking.
• 5th: Fifth is not the usual ranking.
• 6th: Sixth is not the usual ranking.

Did you know? Gwadar is the flagship port of CPEC.

Memory trick: 1st KKH, 2nd Gwadar.

Correct answer: 1991. The National Highway Authority (NHA) was established in 1991.

Background: It plans, builds, and maintains the national highways and motorways.

• 2001: 2001 is not the year.
• 2007: 2007 is not the year.
• 2011: 2011 is not the year.

Did you know? Its headquarters is in Islamabad.

Memory trick: NHA = 1991.

Correct answer: Islamabad. The shrine of Bari Imam (Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi) is at Noorpur Shahan in Islamabad.

Background: Bari Imam is regarded as the patron saint of Islamabad.

• Lahore: Lahore is known for Data Darbar.
• Karachi: Karachi is known for Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine.
• Multan: Multan is known for the shrines of Bahauddin Zakariya and Shah Rukn-e-Alam.

Did you know? His Urs draws large crowds every year.

Memory trick: Bari Imam = Islamabad.

Correct answer: Congress. The Congress accepted Lord Mountbatten as Governor-General of India; the Muslim League did not accept a joint Governor-General.

Background: Mountbatten had hoped to be Governor-General of both dominions.

• Muslim League: The Muslim League rejected a joint Governor-General, and Jinnah became Governor-General of Pakistan.
• Majlis Ahrar: Majlis Ahrar did not accept the offer.
• Akali Dal: Akali Dal did not accept the offer.

Did you know? Jinnah took the post of Governor-General of Pakistan himself.

Memory trick: Jinnah refused; Congress accepted.

Correct answer: Durand Line. The Durand Line marks the Pakistan–Afghanistan border and was agreed in 1893.

Background: It is named after Sir Mortimer Durand, who agreed it with Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.

• Radcliffe Line: The Radcliffe Line is the India–Pakistan border.
• Mac Mohan Line: The McMahon Line is the India–China boundary line in the east.
• Ceasefire Line: The ceasefire line is in Kashmir.

Did you know? It is about 2,640 km long, and Afghanistan has not formally accepted it.

Memory trick: Durand = Afghan border.

Correct answer: Ravi. The Ravi is the most polluted river because of industrial and sewage waste, especially around Lahore.

Background: The Ravi flows past Lahore, one of Pakistan’s largest industrial cities.

• Indus: The Indus is much larger and less polluted.
• Jhelum: The Jhelum is less polluted.
• Sutlej: The Sutlej is polluted, but the Ravi is the most polluted.

Did you know? Much of the Ravi’s flow comes from drains and wastewater.

Memory trick: Ravi + Lahore factories.

Correct answer: Cash crop. Cotton is a cash crop, meaning it is grown to be sold rather than eaten.

Background: Pakistan is among the world’s largest cotton producers.

• Textile crop: Cotton is a raw material for textiles, but its crop category is cash crop.
• Food crop: Cotton is not a food crop.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because cash crop is correct.

Did you know? Cotton is often called “white gold”.

Memory trick: Cotton = cash crop.

Correct answer: Tubewell. Groundwater extracted via tubewells supplies the majority of agricultural water requirement in Punjab, surpassing canal irrigation volume during critical crop seasons.

Background: While canals form the primary surface network, private and public tubewells account for over 50-60% of water applied at the farm gate.

• Canal: Forms the largest surface gravity-fed network.
• Rainfall: Highly seasonal and insufficient for intensive cropping.
• Karez: Traditional subterranean canal system used predominantly in Balochistan.

Did you know? Over 1 million tubewells operate across Punjab.

Memory trick: Groundwater extraction = Tubewells.

Correct answer: 3. Three Round Table Conferences were held in London, in 1930, 1931, and 1932.

Background: They were called to discuss India’s constitutional future after the Simon Commission.

• 1: More than one conference was held.
• 2: Two is fewer than the actual number.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because three is correct.

Did you know? The Congress took part only in the second conference (Gandhi, 1931).

Memory trick: RTCs: 1930, 1931, 1932 = 3.

Correct answer: George VI. George VI reigned from 1936 to 1952, so he was king at the time of partition in 1947.

Background: He was the last Emperor of India until the title was dropped in 1948.

• George V: George V died in 1936.
• Victoria: Queen Victoria died in 1901.
• Atlee: Clement Attlee was the Prime Minister, not the monarch.

Did you know? He was the father of Queen Elizabeth II.

Memory trick: 1947 → George VI.