PPSC Past Papers & Solved MCQs

Correct answer: Ras Koh. Pakistan’s nuclear tests took place in the Ras Koh Hills in Chagai District, Balochistan.

Background: Pakistan tested five devices on 28 May 1998 and one more on 30 May 1998.

• Margalla: Margalla Hills are near Islamabad.
• Himalaya: The Himalaya range is in northern Pakistan and India.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because Ras Koh is correct.

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

Memory trick: Ras Koh = Chagai = 28 May 1998.

Correct answer: Liaqat Ali Khan. Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan presented the Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly on 7 March 1949.

Background: The Assembly passed it on 12 March 1949.

• Quaid-e-Azam: Quaid-e-Azam had died in September 1948.
• Nazimuddin: Khawaja Nazimuddin was Governor-General at the time.
• Zafarullah Khan: Sir Zafarullah Khan was Foreign Minister.

Did you know? It later became the preamble of the 1973 Constitution.

Memory trick: Liaqat → Objectives.

Correct answer: Sindh. Khairpur is in Sindh.

Background: Khairpur was a princely state that joined Pakistan in 1947.

• KPK: It is not in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Baltistan: Baltistan is a region in Gilgit-Baltistan, not a province.
• Punjab: It is not in Punjab.

Did you know? The Khairpur district is famous for its dates.

Memory trick: Khairpur = Sindh = dates.

Correct answer: June 2017. Pakistan became a full SCO member at the Astana summit in June 2017.

Background: India became a full member at the same summit.

• Jan 2017: January 2017 is not the date.
• July 2017: July 2017 is not the date.
• Sep 2017: September 2017 is not the date.

Did you know? The SCO was founded in 2001 in Shanghai.

Memory trick: 2017 Astana: Pakistan and India join.

Correct answer: Wakhan Corridor. The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of Afghanistan that separates Pakistan from Tajikistan and touches China.

Background: It was created in the 19th century as a buffer between the British and Russian empires.

• Gomal Pass: Gomal Pass links the Pakistan–Afghanistan border in the Waziristan region.
• Bolan Pass: Bolan Pass links Quetta to Sibi.
• Goldsmid Line: The Goldsmid Line was a boundary line in Balochistan and Iran.

Did you know? The corridor is about 350 km long and in places only 13 km wide.

Memory trick: Wakhan = Afghanistan’s long arm toward China.

Correct answer: Karachi. Karachi, with its concrete buildings, roads, and little greenery, traps heat and forms an urban heat island.

Background: An urban heat island is a city that is warmer than the surrounding countryside.

• Gawadar: Gwadar is a small coastal town.
• Hyderabad: Hyderabad is smaller and less dense than Karachi.
• Thatta: Thatta is a small town with less concrete.

Did you know? In June 2015 a deadly heatwave hit Karachi.

Memory trick: Concrete city → Karachi heat.

Correct answer: Indian Independence Act, 1947. The Indian Independence Act, 1947, created the two independent dominions of India and Pakistan.

Background: The Act followed the 3rd June Plan and ended British rule on 14–15 August 1947.

• 1919 Act: The 1919 Act introduced diarchy in the provinces.
• 1935 Act: The 1935 Act gave provincial autonomy and became the base of later constitutions.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because the Indian Independence Act, 1947, is correct.

Did you know? It received royal assent on 18 July 1947.

Memory trick: 1947 Act = Partition Act.

Correct answer: Allama Iqbal. Allama Iqbal wrote the Persian poetry collection Zabur-e-Ajam, published in 1927.

Background: Iqbal wrote much of his work in Persian to reach a wider Muslim audience.

• Shibli: Shibli Nomani wrote Seerat-un-Nabi and other works.
• Sir Syed: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan wrote Asar-us-Sanadid.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because Allama Iqbal is correct.

Did you know? His other Persian works include Asrar-e-Khudi (1915) and Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (1918).

Memory trick: Zabur-e-Ajam = Iqbal’s Persian Psalms.

Correct answer: Muhammad Ali Jauhar. The Khilafat Movement was led by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, with his brother Shaukat Ali.

Background: The movement (1919–24) aimed to protect the Ottoman Caliphate after the First World War.

• Maulana Shaukat Ali: Maulana Shaukat Ali was Muhammad Ali Jauhar’s brother and co-leader, but the question names Muhammad Ali Jauhar as the leader.
• Quaid-e-Azam: Quaid-e-Azam did not lead the Khilafat Movement.
• Zafar Ali Khan: Zafar Ali Khan supported the movement but did not lead it.

Did you know? Jauhar published the newspapers Comrade (English) and Hamdard (Urdu).

Memory trick: Khilafat = the Ali Brothers (Jauhar).

Correct answer: 1878. Sir Syed was nominated to the Viceroy’s Legislative Council in 1878.

Background: He used the position to speak on Muslim education and social reform.

• 1872: 1872 is not the year.
• 1876: 1876 is not the year.
• 1880: 1880 is not the year.

Did you know? He had founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875.

Memory trick: 1875 college → 1878 council.

Correct answer: 1913. Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined the Muslim League in 1913.

Background: He had earlier been a member of the Indian National Congress.

• 1906: 1906 is the year the League was founded.
• 1910: 1910 is not the year he joined.
• 1920: 1920 is when he left the Congress.

Did you know? He helped arrange the Lucknow Pact of 1916 between the League and the Congress.

Memory trick: League 1906 → Jinnah joins 1913.

Correct answer: Dhaka. The All-India Muslim League was formed at Dhaka in December 1906.

Background: The meeting took place at the Ahsan Manzil of Nawab Salimullah Khan.

• Delhi: It was not formed in Delhi.
• Bombay: It was not formed in Bombay.
• Karachi: It was not formed in Karachi.

Did you know? Its first president was Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk’s colleague Sir Aga Khan, who was the honorary president.

Memory trick: 1906, Dhaka, Salimullah.

Correct answer: Sehwan Sharif. The shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh.

Background: Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was a 13th-century Sufi saint.

• Multan: Multan is known for the shrines of Bahauddin Zakariya and Shah Rukn-e-Alam.
• Hyderabad: Hyderabad is not the location of the shrine.
• Khairpur: Khairpur is not the location of the shrine.

Did you know? His Urs is famous for the devotional dance called dhamal.

Memory trick: Lal → Sehwan.

Correct answer: 1919. The Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms) introduced diarchy in the provinces.

Background: Diarchy meant “dual rule”: some subjects were “transferred” to Indian ministers, while others stayed “reserved” for the British governor.

• 1909: 1909 is the year of the Morley–Minto Reforms (separate electorates).
• 1935: 1935 is the year of the Government of India Act that gave provincial autonomy.
• 1950: 1950 is the year the Indian constitution came into force.

Did you know? Education and health were transferred subjects, while law and order and finance were reserved.

Memory trick: 1919 = Diarchy.

Correct answer: Muhammad Ali Jauhar. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar is named as having helped Quaid-e-Azam prepare the Fourteen Points of 1929.

Background: Jinnah announced the Fourteen Points in March 1929 in reply to the Nehru Report of 1928.

• Allama Iqbal: Allama Iqbal gave the Allahabad Address in 1930.
• Rehmat Ali: Rehmat Ali is known for coining the name “Pakistan” in 1933.
• Liaqat Ali Khan: Liaqat Ali Khan is not credited with helping prepare the Fourteen Points.

Did you know? The Nehru Report had rejected separate electorates for Muslims.

Memory trick: 14 Points: 1929, Jinnah, with Jauhar’s help.