PPSC Past Papers & Solved MCQs

The Surah recited at the conquest of Makkah is Surah Al-Fath (The Victory). This Surah was revealed after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which, despite initial appearances, was a strategic victory that paved the way for the eventual peaceful conquest of Makkah. It speaks of the clear victory granted to the Prophet (PBUH) and the believers, and the forgiveness of sins.

• Surah Al-Fatiha is the opening chapter of the Quran, recited in every prayer, and not specifically tied to the conquest.
• Surah Al-Nasr speaks of the coming of Allah's help and victory, and people entering Islam in crowds, often associated with the final stages of the Prophet's mission and his impending death, but Al-Fath is more directly linked to the conquest itself.
• Surah Al-Ikhlas is a short, powerful Surah emphasizing the oneness of Allah.

The First Muslim Economic Conference was held in 1949 during the tenure of Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan. This conference was a pivotal event aimed at formulating economic policies and fostering economic cooperation among Muslim nations in the early years of Pakistan's independence. It laid foundational groundwork for future economic strategies. Option A (1950) is incorrect as the first conference occurred earlier. Option C (1948) is too early, as the country was still grappling with immediate post-partition challenges. Therefore, 1949 is the precise and correct year for this significant event.

The question asks for the province where the Thal Desert is located. Punjab is the correct answer. The Thal Desert is a large, arid region situated in the Punjab province of Pakistan, specifically between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. It is known for its unique sandy landscape and agricultural challenges.

• Sindh province is home to the Thar Desert, which is distinct from the Thal Desert.
• KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) is a mountainous province in the northwest of Pakistan and does not contain the Thal Desert.
• Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province by area, has its own desert regions, such as the Kharan Desert, but not the Thal Desert.

Accurate knowledge of Pakistan's provincial geography is crucial.

The correct answer is Boils. This question tests knowledge of common English proverbs. The proverb "A watched pot never boils" means that time seems to pass more slowly when one is waiting impatiently for something to happen. The verb "boils" refers to the specific action of water reaching its boiling point, which is the core concept of the proverb.

• A: Cooked is in the past tense and does not fit the present tense, continuous nature implied by the proverb's meaning.
• B: Steams is an action related to boiling water but is not the specific verb used in this well-known idiom. The proverb focuses on the act of reaching the boiling point.
• D: None of these is incorrect because "Boils" is the correct and universally accepted word in this proverb.

The correct answer is 279 AH. Imam Tirmizi, full name Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmizi, was a renowned Persian Islamic scholar and collector of hadith. He is best known for his compilation of hadith known as Jami' at-Tirmizi, which is one of the six canonical hadith collections in Sunni Islam. He passed away in the year 279 AH (corresponding to 892 AD) in Tirmidh, located in present-day Uzbekistan. Options A, B, and D are incorrect as they do not represent the historically accurate year of his demise.

Asif Ali Zardari was the President of Pakistan when the landmark 18th Constitutional Amendment was passed in 2010. This amendment was a significant legislative achievement, restoring the 1973 Constitution to its original parliamentary form, curtailing presidential powers, and removing the president's authority to unilaterally dissolve parliament. Option A (Mamnoon Hussain) became President much later (2013-2018). Option B (Pervez Musharraf) was President before Zardari, resigning in 2008. Option D (Arif Alvi) became President even later (2018-present). Thus, Asif Ali Zardari was the head of state during this crucial constitutional reform.

The question asks about the instrument used to measure earthquakes, which falls under the foundational concept of seismology. The correct answer is Seismograph.

• A Seismograph is an instrument that detects and records seismic waves generated by earthquakes, providing data on their magnitude and location.
• Barometer (Option A) is used to measure atmospheric pressure, not seismic activity.
• Hygrometer (Option C) is used to measure humidity in the atmosphere.
• Therefore, options A and C are incorrect as they measure different environmental parameters.

The correct answer is Stops.

• Why 'Stops' is correct: In English grammar, when a sentence contains a future tense in the main clause (e.g., "We will go out") and a time clause introduced by conjunctions like "when," "as soon as," or "until," the verb in the time clause is typically in the simple present tense, even though it refers to a future action. This is a common rule for future time clauses.

• Why other options are incorrect:

  • 'Would Stop' is generally used for hypothetical situations or past habits, not for future time clauses of this type.
  • 'Stopped' is the past tense and does not fit the future context established by "We will go out."
  • 'Stopping' is a present participle and would require an auxiliary verb (e.g., "is stopping") to form a continuous tense, but even then, "when it is stopping raining" is grammatically awkward and incorrect in this specific construction.

The correct answer is Operation Gibraltar. This operation was launched by Pakistan in August 1965, involving the infiltration of Pakistani irregulars into Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The aim was to incite a local rebellion against Indian rule, which Pakistan hoped would lead to the region's liberation. However, the operation failed to achieve its objectives and escalated into the full-scale Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

• Operation Barbarossa was Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, completely unrelated to Pakistan or Kashmir.
• Operation Azad and Operation Kashmir are not recognized codenames for Pakistan's 1965 military action in Kashmir.

This question pertains to the historical contributions of Muslim scientists to medicine. The correct answer is Ibn al-Nafis.

• Ibn al-Nafis (Option B) was a 13th-century Arab physician who is widely credited with being the first to accurately describe the pulmonary circulation of blood and for his early understanding of the contagious nature of diseases.
• Ibn Sina (Option A), also known as Avicenna, was a Persian polymath whose 'Canon of Medicine' was a standard medical text for centuries, but he did not discover pulmonary circulation or the contagious nature of diseases in the same detailed manner as Ibn al-Nafis.
• Al-Razi (Option C), or Rhazes, was a Persian physician who made significant contributions to medicine, including distinguishing smallpox from measles, but not the specific discoveries mentioned.

The correct answer is Semicolon.

• Why 'Semicolon' is correct: A semicolon (;) is used to connect two independent clauses that are closely related in meaning but could stand alone as separate sentences. It indicates a stronger pause than a comma but a weaker pause than a period, suggesting a close relationship between the ideas without using a coordinating conjunction.

• Why other options are incorrect:

  • 'Hyphen' (-) is used to join words or parts of words (e.g., well-known, sister-in-law), not to connect independent sentences.
  • 'Comma' (,) is used for various purposes like separating items in a list, introducing clauses, or joining independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, or), but it cannot join two independent clauses on its own without creating a comma splice.
  • 'Colon' (:) is used to introduce a list, an explanation, or a quotation, or to emphasize a point, but not to simply connect two grammatically independent sentences in the way a semicolon does.

The correct answer is 16. At the time of the Partition of India in 1947, the newly formed Pakistan inherited a significantly underdeveloped industrial base. Out of 451 cotton mills in British India, Pakistan received only 16. This stark imbalance highlighted the economic challenges faced by the new nation, despite being a major producer of raw cotton. The lack of processing infrastructure meant Pakistan had to export raw materials and import finished goods, hindering its economic growth.

• Options 33 and 50 are incorrect and significantly higher than the actual number, which would imply a much stronger industrial inheritance than was the reality.
• None of these is incorrect as 16 is the precise figure.

This analogy question requires identifying a similar relationship between two pairs of words. The initial pair is Conductor : Bus, where a conductor is a person who works on or operates a bus, managing passengers and tickets.

• The correct analogy is Thespian : Play (Option C). A thespian is an actor, and an actor performs in a play, establishing a similar person-to-activity/setting relationship.
• Drama : Director (Option A) is incorrect because a director oversees a drama, but the relationship isn't as direct as a person working on the object/event itself.
• Producer : Theater (Option B) is also incorrect; a producer manages or funds a theater, but doesn't typically 'work on' it in the same operational sense as a conductor on a bus.

The correct answer is Ubaid Ullah Sindhi. The Silk Letter Movement (Reshmi Rumal Tehreek) was an anti-British conspiracy during World War I, primarily initiated by Maulana Ubaid Ullah Sindhi and Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan. The movement aimed to overthrow British rule in India by forming an alliance with Afghanistan and Ottoman Turkey, sending secret letters written on silk cloth to various leaders. It represented a significant pan-Islamic and anti-colonial effort.

• Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar were prominent leaders of the Khilafat Movement, which emerged later, advocating for the protection of the Ottoman Caliphate and Indian Muslim rights, but they did not initiate the Silk Letter Movement.
• None of these is incorrect as Ubaid Ullah Sindhi is the correct initiator.

This question tests the correct usage of prepositions in English, a foundational concept in grammar. The phrase 'take revenge' requires a specific preposition to form a grammatically correct and idiomatic expression.

• The correct preposition to use with 'take revenge' when referring to the target of the revenge is on. Thus, 'I took revenge on my enemy' (Option C) is the correct phrasing.
• Using 'From' (Option A) or 'To' (Option B) would be grammatically incorrect in this context. 'From' would imply receiving revenge, and 'To' would imply giving revenge to someone, neither of which fits the standard idiom for taking revenge against an enemy.

The correct answer is 1911. The Partition of Bengal, enacted by Lord Curzon in 1905, divided the province into two parts, sparking widespread nationalist protests and unrest across India. The British government, facing intense political agitation and a desire to appease Indian nationalists, decided to annul the partition in 1911 during the Delhi Durbar. This decision was a significant victory for the Indian nationalist movement.

• 1905 was the year the Partition of Bengal was enacted, not annulled.
• 1920 was a period of the Non-Cooperation Movement, unrelated to the annulment.
• 1947 marks the year of India's independence and the final partition of British India.

This question asks for the term describing a person who values things practically, which relates to understanding different philosophical or personality types. The correct answer is Pragmatist.

• A Pragmatist (Option C) is an individual who approaches problems and situations in a practical, realistic, and sensible way, focusing on what is effective and works in practice rather than on theories or ideals.
• An Idealist (Option A) is someone who is guided by ideals and principles, often to the exclusion of practical considerations, which is the opposite of the description.
• An Optimist (Option B) is a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something, which describes a disposition rather than a practical approach to things.

The correct answer is Why didn’t you go?

• Why 'Why didn’t you go?' is correct: This sentence follows the standard grammatical structure for an interrogative sentence (a question) in English. The structure is: Question Word (Why) + Auxiliary Verb (did + not/n't) + Subject (you) + Main Verb (go, in its base form after 'did'). The question mark at the end correctly indicates it's a question.

• Why other options are incorrect:

  • 'Why didn’t go you?' is incorrect due to improper word order. In a question, the subject ("you") must come before the main verb ("go").
  • 'Why didn’t you gol' contains a misspelling of the verb "go" as "gol" and lacks the necessary question mark at the end, making it grammatically incorrect and incomplete as a question.
  • 'None of these' is incorrect because option A is a perfectly formed and grammatically correct sentence.

The correct answer is 1989. The Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent crackdown by the Chinese government occurred in June 1989. During this sensitive period, Pakistan, upholding its long-standing

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that performs the action. In the sentence "I met a beggar on the road.", the pronoun "I" performs the action of meeting, so it is the subject.

Sentence Structure:

• Subject: I
• Verb: met
• Object: a beggar
• Prepositional Phrase: on the road

Why the other options are incorrect:

• Met: This is the verb, not the subject.
• Beggar: This is the object (receiver of the action), not the subject.
• Road: This is part of the prepositional phrase indicating location.

Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established in 1944 to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Countries typically join such institutions shortly after their independence to integrate into the global financial system.

• 1950 is the correct answer. Pakistan officially became a member of the IMF on July 11, 1950, a few years after its independence.
• 1947 is incorrect; while Pakistan became independent in 1947, its formal membership in the IMF occurred later.
• 1948 is incorrect as Pakistan's membership was not finalized in this year.
• None of these is incorrect because 1950 is the accurate year of membership.

The correct preposition to use with 'proficient' when referring to a subject or area of skill is 'in'. Therefore, 'He is proficient in math' is the grammatically correct phrase.

• A. In: This is correct. 'Proficient in' means skilled or expert in a particular field or activity.
• B. With: 'Proficient with' is typically used when referring to tools or people (e.g., proficient with a computer, proficient with children), not subjects.
• C. At: 'Proficient at' is used for specific tasks or activities (e.g., proficient at playing chess), but 'in' is preferred for broader subjects.
• D. Off: This preposition is entirely incorrect in this context.