CSS Pakistan Affairs: 100 practice MCQs with answers

These multiple-choice questions cover the CSS and PMS Pakistan Affairs syllabus in eight sections: Muslim rule and the freedom movement, ideology and the two-nation theory, constitutional history, governments and leaders, geography and resources, the economy, foreign relations, and the institutions of the state today. Every question is original and written in the style of the objective part of the paper. The answers come at the end of each section, with a one-line reason for each, so you can learn the fact behind the answer and not just the letter.

How to use them: attempt a whole section without notes, mark it, and then reread the reasons for every question you got wrong or guessed. Facts that appear in several questions (dates of the constitutions, key resolutions, constitutional articles) are the ones examiners return to most often.

Exam tip: in the CSS objective paper there is no time to work things out from scratch. Learn a short "date spine" by heart: 712, 1526, 1857, 1885, 1906, 1909, 1916, 1930, 1940, 1947, 1949, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1985, 1999, 2010, 2018, 2024. Most questions on the freedom movement and constitutional history hang on one of these years.

The table below links each year in the date spine to the event you should attach to it. Cover the right-hand column and test yourself before starting the questions.

Year	Event to link with it
712	Muhammad bin Qasim conquers Sindh
1526	Babur wins the First Battle of Panipat and founds the Mughal Empire
1857	War of Independence; Mughal rule ends and the Crown takes over India in 1858
1885	Indian National Congress founded
1906	Simla Deputation (October) and foundation of the All-India Muslim League at Dhaka (December)
1909	Minto-Morley Reforms accept separate electorates
1916	Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the League
1930	Allama Iqbal's Allahabad Address
1940	Lahore Resolution, 23 March
1947	Independence, 14 August; Pakistan joins the United Nations, 30 September
1949	Objectives Resolution, 12 March
1956	First Constitution in force, 23 March
1958	Constitution abrogated and martial law imposed, October
1962	Second Constitution (presidential)
1970	First general elections on adult franchise, December
1971	Separation of East Pakistan, 16 December
1973	Third Constitution in force, 14 August
1977	Martial law under General Zia-ul-Haq, 5 July
1985	8th Amendment; party-less elections; Article 2A added
1999	Military takeover under General Musharraf, 12 October
2010	18th Amendment
2018	25th Amendment merges FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2024	26th Amendment on constitutional benches

Section 1: Muslim rule and the freedom movement

Key facts for this section. Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in Sindh with the Arab conquest of 712 and expanded under the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate (from 1206) and the Mughals (from 1526). Mughal power declined after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, and the failure of the 1857 War of Independence ended the dynasty and brought India directly under the British Crown in 1858.

After 1857 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan led the Aligarh Movement, urging Muslims to take up modern education and to stay out of the Indian National Congress (founded 1885). The Muslim League (1906) secured separate electorates in 1909 and cooperated with the Congress in the Lucknow Pact (1916) and the Khilafat Movement. Relations broke down after the Nehru Report (1928), and Iqbal's Allahabad Address (1930) gave the idea of a separate Muslim homeland its first clear political form.

The decisive decade began with the 1937 elections and the Congress ministries, continued with the Lahore Resolution (1940) and the 1945 to 1946 elections, in which the League won almost all Muslim seats, and ended with the Cabinet Mission Plan, Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), the 3 June Plan and independence on 14 August 1947.

1. Muhammad bin Qasim's conquest of Sindh, including the capture of Debal, is usually dated to:

A. 632 AD
B. 712 AD
C. 1001 AD
D. 1206 AD

2. The Mughal Empire in the subcontinent was founded after the First Battle of Panipat (1526) by:

A. Akbar
B. Humayun
C. Babur
D. Sher Shah Suri

3. The War of Independence of 1857 broke out first among Indian soldiers at:

A. Delhi
B. Lucknow
C. Kanpur
D. Meerut

4. The school at Aligarh that grew into the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was founded by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in:

A. 1875
B. 1857
C. 1886
D. 1906

5. The Simla Deputation that met the Viceroy Lord Minto on 1 October 1906 to ask for separate electorates was led by:

A. Nawab Salimullah Khan
B. Sir Aga Khan III
C. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar
D. Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk

6. The All-India Muslim League was founded in December 1906 at:

A. Lahore
B. Aligarh
C. Lucknow
D. Dhaka

7. Separate electorates for Muslims were first given legal recognition by:

A. The Indian Councils Act 1892
B. The Indian Councils Act 1909 (Minto-Morley Reforms)
C. The Government of India Act 1919
D. The Government of India Act 1935

8. The Partition of Bengal, carried out in 1905, was annulled in:

A. 1909
B. 1919
C. 1911
D. 1916

9. The Lucknow Pact of 1916, under which the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims, was signed between:

A. The Congress and the Muslim League
B. The Muslim League and the British Government
C. The Congress and the Khilafat Committee
D. The Muslim League and the Unionist Party

10. The Khilafat Movement in the subcontinent was led most prominently by:

A. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk
B. Allama Iqbal and Chaudhry Rahmat Ali
C. Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah
D. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali

11. Quaid-i-Azam's Fourteen Points (1929) were mainly a response to:

A. The Nehru Report
B. The Simon Commission report
C. The Communal Award
D. The Cripps proposals

12. Allama Iqbal proposed a consolidated Muslim state in North-West India in his presidential address at:

A. Lahore, 1940
B. Allahabad, 1930
C. Lucknow, 1937
D. Karachi, 1938

13. The pamphlet "Now or Never" (1933), in which the name "Pakistan" first appeared, was written by:

A. Chaudhry Rahmat Ali
B. Allama Iqbal
C. Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan
D. Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman

14. The Muslim League observed a "Day of Deliverance" on 22 December 1939 to mark:

A. The passing of the Lahore Resolution
B. The end of the Second World War
C. The resignation of the Congress provincial ministries
D. The announcement of the Cabinet Mission

15. The Lahore Resolution of March 1940 was moved by:

A. Liaquat Ali Khan
B. Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan
C. Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
D. A. K. Fazlul Haq

16. The plan of 1946 that proposed grouping the provinces into three groups under a weak centre controlling defence, foreign affairs and communications was:

A. The Cripps Mission plan
B. The Wavell Plan
C. The 3 June Plan
D. The Cabinet Mission Plan

1. B. Muhammad bin Qasim took Debal and conquered Sindh in 711 to 712 AD; 712 is the date normally given.

2. C. Zahir-ud-Din Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal dynasty.

3. D. The rising began at Meerut on 10 May 1857, and the soldiers then marched on Delhi.

4. A. The Madrassat-ul-Uloom (MAO school) opened at Aligarh in 1875 and became MAO College two years later; it is now Aligarh Muslim University.

5. B. Sir Aga Khan III led the 35-member Simla Deputation, which asked for separate electorates and weightage for Muslims.

6. D. The League was founded at Dhaka on 30 December 1906, at a session of the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference hosted by Nawab Salimullah.

7. B. The Minto-Morley Reforms (Indian Councils Act 1909) accepted separate electorates, which later Acts retained. The Act also enlarged the legislative councils and allowed Indians to be elected to them.

8. C. The partition was reversed in 1911, announced at the Delhi Durbar, which disappointed the Muslims of East Bengal.

9. A. The Lucknow Pact was an agreement between the Congress and the League, in which Jinnah played a leading role.

10. D. The Ali brothers led the movement (1919 to 1924) to protect the Ottoman Caliphate after the First World War.

11. A. The Nehru Report (1928) rejected separate electorates and weightage; Jinnah set out the Muslim demands in his Fourteen Points in 1929.

12. B. Iqbal's Allahabad Address of December 1930 at the Muslim League session proposed a North-West Muslim state.

13. A. Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, then a student at Cambridge, coined the name Pakistan in "Now or Never" in 1933.

14. C. Jinnah called for the Day of Deliverance when Congress ministries resigned in late 1939 after rule that Muslims regarded as unfair.

15. D. A. K. Fazlul Haq, Chief Minister of Bengal, moved the resolution on 23 March 1940; it was adopted on 24 March.

16. D. The Cabinet Mission Plan (May 1946) proposed groups A, B and C with a limited central government; the League accepted it at first, but withdrew after Nehru's statement of July 1946 and called for Direct Action.

Section 2: Ideology and the two-nation theory

Key facts for this section. The ideology of Pakistan rests on the belief that the Muslims of the subcontinent were a separate nation, with their own religion, culture, law, language and history, and so needed a state in which they could live by Islamic principles. Students should be able to trace this idea through religious reformers before 1857 (Mujaddid Alf Sani, Shah Waliullah, Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Haji Shariatullah), through Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the Aligarh Movement, to Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

After independence the ideology was written into the state's founding documents. The Objectives Resolution (1949) set out the principles on which the constitution would be built: sovereignty belongs to Allah, democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam, protection of minorities, a federal system and an independent judiciary. It served as the preamble to the 1956, 1962 and 1973 Constitutions, and Article 2A (added in 1985) made it a substantive part of the 1973 Constitution.

In essay and short questions, examiners also expect you to know Jinnah's speech of 11 August 1947 to the Constituent Assembly, often quoted on the equal rights of all citizens regardless of religion.

17. The Mughal emperor Akbar's "Din-i-Ilahi" was opposed most strongly by:

A. Shah Waliullah
B. Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (Mujaddid Alf Sani)
C. Syed Ahmad Barelvi
D. Haji Shariatullah

18. Shah Waliullah invited which ruler to come to India to check the rising power of the Marathas?

A. Nadir Shah
B. Ranjit Singh
C. Tipu Sultan
D. Ahmad Shah Abdali

19. Syed Ahmad Barelvi's Mujahideen movement ended with his death in battle at:

A. Plassey
B. Panipat
C. Balakot
D. Buxar

20. The Faraizi Movement, which called on Muslims to return to their religious duties, was started in Bengal by:

A. Haji Shariatullah
B. Titu Mir
C. Nawab Abdul Latif
D. Syed Ameer Ali

21. Which nineteenth-century reformer is commonly credited with first stating the two-nation idea in its modern political form?

A. Allama Iqbal
B. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
C. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
D. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

22. The Urdu-Hindi controversy of 1867, which convinced Sir Syed that Hindus and Muslims could not work as one nation, began in:

A. Lucknow
B. Aligarh
C. Delhi
D. Banaras

23. "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam" is a series of lectures by:

A. Allama Iqbal
B. Maulana Maududi
C. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
D. Maulana Shibli Nomani

24. The Objectives Resolution was passed by the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on:

A. 11 August 1947
B. 12 March 1949
C. 23 March 1956
D. 14 August 1973

25. According to the Objectives Resolution, sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to:

A. The people of Pakistan
B. The Parliament
C. The Constituent Assembly
D. Allah Almighty alone

26. Which Article of the 1973 Constitution declares Islam to be the state religion of Pakistan?

A. Article 1
B. Article 2
C. Article 6
D. Article 31

17. B. Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alf Sani, opposed Akbar's syncretic Din-i-Ilahi and worked to restore orthodox Islam at the Mughal court.

18. D. Shah Waliullah wrote to Ahmad Shah Abdali, who defeated the Marathas at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.

19. C. Syed Ahmad Barelvi and Shah Ismail were killed fighting the Sikhs at Balakot in 1831.

20. A. Haji Shariatullah founded the Faraizi Movement; his son Dudu Mian carried it on.

21. C. Sir Syed spoke of Hindus and Muslims as two separate nations after the Urdu-Hindi controversy, and is usually called the father of the two-nation theory. Some writers trace the idea further back to Mujaddid Alf Sani and to Al-Biruni's account of Hindu society.

22. D. The demand by Hindus in Banaras in 1867 to replace Urdu with Hindi in Devanagari script is the usual starting point.

23. A. Iqbal delivered these lectures in the late 1920s; they were published as a book in the early 1930s.

24. B. Moved by Liaquat Ali Khan, the Objectives Resolution was adopted on 12 March 1949 and later became the preamble of each constitution. Its principles include democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance, social justice and protection of minorities.

25. D. The Resolution states that sovereignty belongs to Allah alone and that authority is exercised by the people as a sacred trust within limits He has set.

26. B. Article 2 states that Islam shall be the State religion of Pakistan; Article 2A makes the Objectives Resolution a substantive part of the Constitution.

Section 3: Constitutional history

Key facts for this section. Pakistan has had three constitutions: 1956 (parliamentary, unicameral, parity between the two wings), 1962 (presidential, unicameral, indirect elections through Basic Democrats) and 1973 (parliamentary, federal, bicameral). The first two were abrogated by martial law in 1958 and 1969. The 1973 Constitution was suspended or held in abeyance in 1977 and 1999 but never abrogated, and has been amended many times.

The amendments most often examined are: the 8th (1985), which shifted power towards the President through Article 58(2)(b); the 13th (1997), which removed that power; the 17th (2003), which restored it; the 18th (2010), which removed it again, abolished the Concurrent List, strengthened provincial autonomy and renamed NWFP; the 21st (2015) on military courts; the 25th (2018) merging FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and the 26th (2024) on constitutional benches and the appointment of the Chief Justice.

Before 1956 the country was run under the Government of India Act 1935 as adapted. The long delay in making a constitution came from disputes over representation of the two wings, the national language, the role of Islam and the powers of the centre.

27. Until its first constitution was made, Pakistan was governed under:

A. The Government of India Act 1935, as adapted, and the Indian Independence Act 1947
B. The Government of India Act 1919
C. The Objectives Resolution alone
D. Martial law regulations

28. The first Constitution of Pakistan came into force on:

A. 14 August 1947
B. 12 March 1949
C. 23 March 1956
D. 8 June 1962

29. The "Bogra Formula" of 1953 was a proposal about:

A. The distribution of river waters
B. Representation of East and West Pakistan in the central legislature
C. The national language
D. Land reforms

30. The provinces and states of West Pakistan were merged into a single province under the One Unit scheme in:

A. 1955
B. 1956
C. 1958
D. 1962

31. Under the 1956 Constitution the central legislature was:

A. Bicameral, with a Senate and a National Assembly
B. Unicameral, with equal seats for East and West Pakistan
C. Unicameral, with seats in proportion to population
D. Bicameral, with a Council of States

32. The 1956 Constitution was abrogated in October 1958 by:

A. Ghulam Muhammad
B. General Ayub Khan
C. Iskander Mirza
D. Feroz Khan Noon

33. The 1962 Constitution introduced:

A. A parliamentary system with a ceremonial president
B. A one-party system
C. A federal system with four autonomous provinces
D. A presidential system with indirect election of the president through Basic Democrats

34. How many Basic Democrats (union council members) formed the electoral college for the 1960 referendum and the 1962 and 1965 elections under Ayub Khan's system?

A. 40,000
B. 60,000
C. 120,000
D. 80,000

35. The 1973 Constitution came into force on:

A. 10 April 1973
B. 14 August 1973
C. 23 March 1973
D. 20 December 1973

36. Which constitution of Pakistan was the first to provide for a bicameral Parliament?

A. 1956
B. 1962
C. 1973
D. None of them

37. Article 58(2)(b), which allowed the President to dissolve the National Assembly at his discretion, was inserted by:

A. The 8th Amendment (1985)
B. The 13th Amendment (1997)
C. The 17th Amendment (2003)
D. The 18th Amendment (2010)

38. The 18th Amendment (2010):

A. Abolished the Concurrent Legislative List
B. Removed the President's power under Article 58(2)(b)
C. Renamed North-West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
D. All of the above

39. Military courts for the trial of terrorism cases were given constitutional cover after the Army Public School attack by the:

A. 19th Amendment
B. 21st Amendment
C. 23rd Amendment
D. 25th Amendment

40. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the:

A. 18th Amendment (2010)
B. 22nd Amendment (2016)
C. 24th Amendment (2017)
D. 25th Amendment (2018)

41. The 26th Amendment (October 2024) introduced:

A. Military courts for civilians
B. Constitutional benches in the Supreme Court and High Courts
C. Direct election of the President
D. A new province in southern Punjab

42. Article 25-A of the Constitution, inserted by the 18th Amendment, requires the State to provide:

A. Free health care to all citizens
B. Free and compulsory education to children aged 5 to 16
C. Free legal aid in criminal cases
D. Employment for every adult

27. A. The Government of India Act 1935, adapted by the Indian Independence Act 1947, served as the interim constitution until March 1956.

28. C. The 1956 Constitution came into force on 23 March 1956, when Pakistan became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Iskander Mirza became its first President.

29. B. Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra's formula (1953) proposed a balance between the two wings across two houses of the legislature.

30. A. One Unit was created in October 1955 to give West Pakistan parity with East Pakistan; it was dissolved by General Yahya Khan in 1970, restoring the four provinces of West Pakistan.

31. B. The 1956 Constitution created a single-house National Assembly of 300 general seats (plus 10 reserved for women), with parity (150 each) between East and West Pakistan.

32. C. President Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution on 7 October 1958 and imposed martial law, with Ayub Khan as Chief Martial Law Administrator.

33. D. Ayub Khan's 1962 Constitution was presidential, and the President and assemblies were elected indirectly by the Basic Democrats.

34. D. There were 80,000 Basic Democrats, 40,000 from each wing (the number was later increased).

35. B. The Constitution was passed on 10 April 1973, authenticated on 12 April and came into force on 14 August 1973.

36. C. The 1956 and 1962 Constitutions had one house; the 1973 Constitution created the National Assembly and the Senate.

37. A. The 8th Amendment under General Zia inserted 58(2)(b); the 13th removed it, the 17th restored it and the 18th removed it again.

38. D. The 18th Amendment did all three, and also increased provincial autonomy and inserted Article 25-A.

39. B. The 21st Amendment (January 2015) followed the attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar, in December 2014.

40. D. The 25th Amendment (May 2018) merged FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and removed FATA's separate seats in Parliament. It also extended the jurisdiction of the High Court and the Supreme Court to the former tribal areas.

41. B. The 26th Amendment created constitutional benches and changed the appointment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to a choice by a parliamentary committee from the three most senior judges.

42. B. Article 25-A makes free and compulsory education for children aged five to sixteen a fundamental right.

Section 4: Governments and leaders

Key facts for this section. The first decade after independence was marked by the deaths of Quaid-i-Azam (1948) and Liaquat Ali Khan (1951), frequent changes of Prime Minister, and growing power for the Governor-General and the bureaucracy, shown by Ghulam Muhammad's dismissal of the Constituent Assembly in 1954.

Military rule has come four times: Ayub Khan (1958 to 1969), Yahya Khan (1969 to 1971), Zia-ul-Haq (1977 to 1988) and Pervez Musharraf (1999 to 2008). Civilian periods include Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government (1971 to 1977), the alternating governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif (1988 to 1999), and the governments elected in 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2024.

Learn the events that ended each government, as examiners like "who succeeded whom" and "what ended this government" questions. Do not rely on memory of the latest cabinet: check the current office-holders in the newspaper before the exam, because questions on them go out of date quickly.

43. Who succeeded the Quaid-i-Azam as Governor-General of Pakistan in 1948?

A. Liaquat Ali Khan
B. Khawaja Nazimuddin
C. Ghulam Muhammad
D. Iskander Mirza

44. Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated in October 1951 in:

A. Karachi
B. Lahore
C. Rawalpindi
D. Dhaka

45. In Federation of Pakistan v. Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan (1955), the Federal Court upheld the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly. The court was headed by:

A. Justice A. R. Cornelius
B. Justice Sir Abdul Rashid
C. Justice Hamoodur Rahman
D. Justice Muhammad Munir

46. The first President of Pakistan was:

A. Iskander Mirza
B. Ghulam Muhammad
C. General Ayub Khan
D. Khawaja Nazimuddin

47. In March 1969 Field Marshal Ayub Khan handed over power to:

A. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
B. Nurul Amin
C. The Speaker of the National Assembly
D. General Yahya Khan

48. The first general elections in Pakistan held on the basis of adult franchise took place in:

A. December 1970
B. March 1977
C. February 1985
D. November 1988

49. Dhaka fell and East Pakistan became Bangladesh on:

A. 25 March 1971
B. 3 December 1971
C. 16 December 1971
D. 2 July 1972

50. General Zia-ul-Haq imposed martial law on 5 July 1977 under the operation named:

A. Operation Gibraltar
B. Operation Fair Play
C. Operation Searchlight
D. Operation Zarb-e-Azb

51. Benazir Bhutto first became Prime Minister in:

A. 1986
B. 1990
C. 1993
D. 1988

52. General Pervez Musharraf removed the elected government of Nawaz Sharif on:

A. 12 October 1999
B. 5 July 1977
C. 3 November 2007
D. 28 May 1998

53. The first elected National Assembly to complete its full five-year term and hand over power to another elected government after general elections was the one elected in:

A. 1988
B. 1997
C. 1993
D. 2008

54. In July 2017 the Supreme Court disqualified a sitting Prime Minister in the Panama Papers case. He was:

A. Yousaf Raza Gilani
B. Nawaz Sharif
C. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
D. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

43. B. Khawaja Nazimuddin became Governor-General after Jinnah's death on 11 September 1948, and later became Prime Minister in 1951. Ghulam Muhammad then replaced him as Governor-General.

44. C. He was shot at a public meeting in Company Bagh, Rawalpindi, on 16 October 1951; the park was renamed Liaquat Bagh.

45. D. Chief Justice Muhammad Munir led the Federal Court, which upheld Ghulam Muhammad's dissolution of the Assembly on technical grounds.

46. A. Iskander Mirza became the first President when the 1956 Constitution came into force; before that the head of state was the Governor-General.

47. D. Instead of handing power to the Speaker as his own Constitution required, Ayub Khan handed it to the Army Chief, General Yahya Khan.

48. A. The 1970 elections were the first national elections on one person one vote; the Awami League won a majority overall and the PPP won most seats in West Pakistan. The failure to transfer power after these results led to the crisis of 1971.

49. C. Pakistani forces in the East surrendered at Dhaka on 16 December 1971.

50. B. Operation Fair Play removed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government; Gibraltar (1965) and Searchlight (1971) were other operations.

51. D. Benazir Bhutto became Prime Minister in December 1988, the first woman elected to lead a Muslim-majority country; her second term began in 1993. Both her governments were dismissed under Article 58(2)(b) before completing their terms.

52. A. The military takeover of 12 October 1999 followed the Prime Minister's attempt to replace Musharraf as Army Chief.

53. D. The Assembly elected in 2008 completed its term, and the 2013 elections brought the first transfer of power between two elected civilian governments.

54. B. Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on 28 July 2017; Yousaf Raza Gilani had been disqualified in 2012 in a contempt case.

Section 5: Geography and resources

Key facts for this section. Pakistan borders Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the north-west, China to the north-east and India to the east, with the Arabian Sea to the south. The northern mountains (Karakoram, Himalaya, Hindu Kush) hold some of the world's highest peaks and largest glaciers outside the polar regions. The western mountains (Sulaiman, Kirthar), the Potwar Plateau, the Balochistan Plateau, the Indus Plain and the Thar and Cholistan deserts make up the rest.

The Indus and its tributaries feed one of the largest contiguous irrigation systems in the world. The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) divided the six rivers of the basin, and led to the building of Mangla and Tarbela dams and link canals. Most rain falls in the summer monsoon (July to September), with western depressions bringing winter rain to the north and west.

Key mineral and energy resources: natural gas (Sui and other fields in Balochistan and Sindh), coal (Thar, Lakhra), salt (Khewra), copper and gold (Saindak, Reko Diq), chromite and marble. Know which province each lies in.

55. The area of Pakistan, excluding Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, is approximately:

A. 596,000 km²
B. 796,000 km²
C. 996,000 km²
D. 1,196,000 km²

56. According to the 2023 census, the first held digitally, the population of Pakistan was about:

A. 208 million
B. 225 million
C. 241 million
D. 265 million

57. The largest province of Pakistan by area is:

A. Punjab
B. Sindh
C. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
D. Balochistan

58. K2, the highest peak in Pakistan and the second highest in the world, lies in the:

A. Karakoram Range
B. Hindu Kush
C. Himalayas
D. Sulaiman Range

59. The River Indus rises:

A. In the Hindu Kush near the Wakhan Corridor
B. In Tibet, near Lake Mansarovar
C. In the Pir Panjal Range
D. At the Siachen Glacier

60. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the western rivers were allocated to Pakistan. The western rivers are:

A. Ravi, Beas and Sutlej
B. Indus, Ravi and Chenab
C. Jhelum, Sutlej and Beas
D. Indus, Jhelum and Chenab

61. The Indus Waters Treaty was brokered by:

A. The United Nations
B. The Soviet Union
C. The United States
D. The World Bank

62. Mangla Dam is built on the River:

A. Indus
B. Chenab
C. Jhelum
D. Kabul

63. The Khewra Salt Mine is located in the:

A. Salt Range, Jhelum District
B. Kirthar Range
C. Chagai Hills
D. Margalla Hills

64. Natural gas was first discovered in Pakistan in 1952 at:

A. Mari
B. Uch
C. Dhodak
D. Sui

65. The Reko Diq and Saindak copper and gold deposits are both in:

A. Chitral
B. Waziristan
C. Tharparkar
D. Chagai District, Balochistan

66. The Thar coalfield, one of the largest lignite deposits in the world, is in:

A. Sindh
B. Punjab
C. Balochistan
D. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

67. Pakistan and China are linked by the Karakoram Highway through the:

A. Khyber Pass
B. Bolan Pass
C. Khunjerab Pass
D. Lowari Pass

68. Which of these is a rabi (winter) crop in Pakistan?

A. Wheat
B. Rice
C. Cotton
D. Sugarcane

55. B. The area usually quoted is 796,096 km²; it is larger if Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are included.

56. C. The 7th Population and Housing Census (2023) recorded about 241.5 million people.

57. D. Balochistan covers about 44 per cent of the country's area but has the smallest population of the four provinces; Punjab has the largest population.

58. A. K2 (8,611 m) is in the Karakoram Range in Gilgit-Baltistan.

59. B. The Indus rises on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Mansarovar and enters Pakistan through Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan.

60. D. The Indus, Jhelum and Chenab went to Pakistan; the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej went to India.

61. D. The World Bank mediated the treaty, signed in Karachi in 1960 by Ayub Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru.

62. C. Mangla is on the Jhelum in Azad Kashmir; Tarbela is on the Indus. Both were built under the Indus Basin Project that followed the 1960 treaty.

63. A. Khewra, in the Salt Range of Jhelum District, is one of the oldest and largest rock salt mines in the world.

64. D. The Sui gas field in Dera Bugti, Balochistan, was discovered in 1952 and gave its name to "Sui gas".

65. D. Both deposits are in Chagai District in north-west Balochistan, near the borders with Iran and Afghanistan.

66. A. The Thar coalfield is in Tharparkar District, Sindh, and is now used for power generation.

67. C. The Khunjerab Pass on the Karakoram Highway is the border crossing with China; the Khyber Pass leads to Afghanistan.

68. A. Wheat is sown in winter and harvested in spring; rice, cotton and sugarcane are kharif (summer) crops.

Section 6: Economy

Key facts for this section. At independence Pakistan had almost no industry and few financial institutions. The State Bank (1948) and early planning bodies were set up quickly. The 1960s brought fast growth through planned industrialisation and the Green Revolution, but also concern about inequality. The 1970s saw nationalisation under Bhutto; the 1980s and 1990s brought gradual denationalisation, privatisation and repeated programmes with the IMF.

Agriculture remains the largest employer, while services make up the largest share of GDP. Textiles dominate exports, and remittances from Pakistanis working abroad are a major source of foreign exchange. Recurring problems examined in CSS papers include a narrow tax base, energy shortages and circular debt, low savings and investment, and balance-of-payments crises.

Federal revenue is shared with the provinces through National Finance Commission awards; the 7th Award (2009) was the first to use several criteria rather than population alone. For the latest growth, inflation and debt figures, use the most recent Pakistan Economic Survey, released each June with the budget: do not memorise figures from old guides.

69. The State Bank of Pakistan was inaugurated by the Quaid-i-Azam on:

A. 14 August 1947
B. 1 July 1948
C. 1 January 1949
D. 23 March 1950

70. Pakistan's financial (fiscal) year runs from:

A. 1 January to 31 December
B. 1 April to 31 March
C. 1 July to 30 June
D. 1 October to 30 September

71. Pakistan's First Five-Year Plan covered the period:

A. 1948 to 1953
B. 1955 to 1960
C. 1960 to 1965
D. 1965 to 1970

72. The "Green Revolution" of the 1960s in Pakistan was based mainly on:

A. Nationalisation of agricultural land
B. Export of raw cotton
C. Collective farming
D. High-yielding seed varieties, fertilisers and tube-well irrigation

73. Banks, insurance companies and major industries were nationalised in the early 1970s under the government of:

A. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
B. Yahya Khan
C. Zia-ul-Haq
D. Muhammad Khan Junejo

74. Under the 7th National Finance Commission Award (2009), the largest weight in sharing resources among the provinces was given to:

A. Poverty and backwardness
B. Revenue collection and generation
C. Inverse population density
D. Population

75. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) links the port of Gwadar with:

A. Kashgar in Xinjiang
B. Shanghai
C. Kunming in Yunnan
D. Lhasa in Tibet

76. The largest share of Pakistan's merchandise exports comes from:

A. Rice
B. Leather goods
C. Textiles and clothing
D. Surgical instruments

77. The Pakistan Stock Exchange was formed in January 2016 by merging:

A. The Karachi and Lahore stock exchanges only
B. The Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad stock exchanges
C. The stock exchanges of all four provincial capitals
D. The Karachi Stock Exchange and the State Bank's bond market

78. Gwadar was transferred to Pakistan from:

A. Iran in 1949
B. The United Kingdom in 1947
C. Oman in 1958
D. The Khan of Kalat in 1955

79. Which sector employs the largest share of Pakistan's labour force?

A. Manufacturing
B. Agriculture
C. Banking and finance
D. Construction

69. B. Jinnah inaugurated the State Bank in Karachi on 1 July 1948; its first Governor was Zahid Hussain.

70. C. The federal budget is presented in June for the fiscal year that starts on 1 July.

71. B. The First Five-Year Plan was for 1955 to 1960; the Second Plan (1960 to 1965) under Ayub Khan was more successful.

72. D. New wheat and rice varieties, chemical fertilisers and private tube-wells raised crop yields sharply in the late 1960s.

73. A. Bhutto's government nationalised key industries and life insurance in 1972 and banks in 1974.

74. D. Population carried 82 per cent of the weight; poverty, revenue and inverse population density shared the rest.

75. A. CPEC, launched formally in 2015, connects Gwadar in Balochistan with Kashgar in western China by road, rail and pipeline projects.

76. C. Textiles and clothing make up more than half of Pakistan's merchandise exports.

77. B. The three exchanges at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad were merged into the Pakistan Stock Exchange on 11 January 2016. The Karachi Stock Exchange, founded in 1947, had been the largest of the three.

78. C. Pakistan bought Gwadar from the Sultanate of Oman in 1958, during Feroz Khan Noon's premiership.

79. B. Agriculture employs more people than any other sector, well over a third of the labour force according to the Labour Force Surveys. Its share of GDP is much smaller, which is one reason rural incomes are low.

Section 7: Foreign relations

Key facts for this section. Pakistan's foreign policy has been shaped by its relationship with India (above all the Kashmir dispute and the wars of 1948, 1965, 1971 and Kargil in 1999), its western border with Afghanistan, and its search for security and economic support from larger powers.

In the 1950s Pakistan joined the United States-led alliances SEATO (1954) and the Baghdad Pact/CENTO (1955). From the 1960s it built a close friendship with China, beginning with the 1963 boundary agreement and continuing through the Karakoram Highway and CPEC. It has strong ties with the Muslim world through the OIC, especially Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran, and was a founding member of the Regional Cooperation for Development (1964) and its successor the Economic Cooperation Organisation (1985).

Key bilateral documents with India are the Liaquat-Nehru Pact (1950), the Indus Waters Treaty (1960), the Tashkent Declaration (1966), the Simla Agreement (1972) and the Lahore Declaration (1999). Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998 changed the security balance in South Asia.

80. The first country to recognise Pakistan after independence is usually said to be:

A. Saudi Arabia
B. Turkey
C. Iran
D. China

81. When Pakistan applied for membership of the United Nations in 1947, the only country to vote against it was:

A. India
B. Afghanistan
C. The Soviet Union
D. Israel

82. The Durand Line, which forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was agreed in:

A. 1893
B. 1879
C. 1919
D. 1947

83. Pakistan joined the Baghdad Pact, later renamed CENTO, in:

A. 1950
B. 1954
C. 1955
D. 1959

84. The boundary agreement between Pakistan and China was signed in:

A. 1951
B. 1963
C. 1971
D. 1978

85. The Tashkent Declaration of January 1966, ending the 1965 war with India, was mediated by:

A. The Soviet Union
B. The United States
C. The United Kingdom
D. The United Nations Secretary-General

86. The Simla Agreement was signed in July 1972 between:

A. Yahya Khan and Indira Gandhi
B. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Morarji Desai
C. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi
D. Ayub Khan and Lal Bahadur Shastri

87. The second summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (then the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) was held in 1974 at:

A. Rabat
B. Lahore
C. Makkah
D. Islamabad

88. The UN Security Council resolution of April 1948 that called for a plebiscite to decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir was:

A. Resolution 47
B. Resolution 242
C. Resolution 1172
D. Resolution 598

89. Pakistan carried out its nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills on:

A. 11 May 1998
B. 28 May 1998
C. 14 August 1998
D. 12 October 1999

90. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in 1985, and its secretariat is in:

A. Islamabad
B. New Delhi
C. Colombo
D. Kathmandu

91. Pakistan became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in:

A. 2001
B. 2005
C. 2017
D. 2021

92. Pakistan is serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term:

A. 2012 to 2013
B. 2025 to 2026
C. 2023 to 2024
D. 2027 to 2028

80. C. Iran is generally named as the first state to recognise Pakistan in August 1947.

81. B. Afghanistan voted against Pakistan's admission because of its claims over the Durand Line, but withdrew its objection soon after; Pakistan joined on 30 September 1947.

82. A. Sir Mortimer Durand and Amir Abdur Rahman Khan agreed the line in 1893.

83. C. Pakistan joined the Baghdad Pact in 1955, a year after joining SEATO (1954); the pact became CENTO in 1959 after Iraq left.

84. B. The Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement was signed on 2 March 1963.

85. A. Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin hosted Ayub Khan and Lal Bahadur Shastri at Tashkent.

86. C. Bhutto and Indira Gandhi signed the Simla Agreement on 2 July 1972; the ceasefire line in Kashmir became the Line of Control. Both sides agreed to settle differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.

87. B. The Lahore summit of February 1974 was hosted by Bhutto; Pakistan recognised Bangladesh during it.

88. A. Resolution 47 (21 April 1948) recommended a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision.

89. B. Pakistan tested on 28 May 1998, in response to India's tests of 11 and 13 May; the day is marked as Youm-e-Takbeer. Pakistan became the first Muslim-majority state to test a nuclear weapon openly.

90. D. SAARC was founded at Dhaka in December 1985 and its secretariat has been in Kathmandu since 1987.

91. C. Pakistan and India both became full members at the Astana summit in June 2017, after years as observers.

92. B. Pakistan was elected in June 2024 for the two-year term 2025 to 2026, its eighth time on the Council.

Section 8: Institutions of the state today

Key facts for this section. Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic. Parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) consists of the President, the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly is elected directly for five years; the Senate gives equal representation to the provinces, and its members serve six-year terms, with half retiring every three years. The Prime Minister is elected by the National Assembly and is the chief executive.

The superior judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, the High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court. Constitutional bodies that appear often in questions include the Election Commission (Article 218), the Auditor-General (Article 168), the Council of Common Interests (Article 153), the National Economic Council (Article 156), the National Finance Commission (Article 160) and the Council of Islamic Ideology (Article 228).

Article numbers are a favourite source of objective questions. Make a one-page table of the twenty most important articles and their subjects, and revise it in the last week before the exam. Check for recent constitutional amendments, which can change the composition or powers of these bodies.

93. The President of Pakistan is elected by an electoral college made up of:

A. The National Assembly only
B. The Senate and the National Assembly only
C. Both Houses of Parliament and the four Provincial Assemblies
D. A direct vote of all registered voters

94. If the office of President falls vacant, or the President is absent from Pakistan, the person who acts as President is:

A. The Prime Minister
B. The Chairman of the Senate
C. The Chief Justice of Pakistan
D. The Speaker of the National Assembly

95. After the merger of FATA, the total number of seats in the National Assembly, including reserved seats, is:

A. 336
B. 342
C. 272
D. 357

96. After the merger of FATA took full effect, the number of members of the Senate became:

A. 87
B. 100
C. 104
D. 96

97. The Council of Common Interests, which settles disputes between the federation and the provinces over shared subjects, is set up under:

A. Article 153, and is chaired by the Prime Minister
B. Article 160, and is chaired by the President
C. Article 218, and is chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner
D. Article 228, and is chaired by the Chief Justice

98. The National Finance Commission, which recommends how federal revenue is shared with the provinces, is formed under Article 160 at intervals of not more than:

A. Three years
B. Four years
C. Five years
D. Ten years

99. The Federal Shariat Court, which can examine whether a law is against the injunctions of Islam, was established in:

A. 1973
B. 1980
C. 1985
D. 1991

100. The Election Commission of Pakistan and the Council of Islamic Ideology are set up, respectively, under:

A. Article 218 and Article 228
B. Article 228 and Article 218
C. Article 168 and Article 203
D. Article 175 and Article 153

93. C. Under Article 41 and the Second Schedule, members of both Houses of Parliament and the four Provincial Assemblies elect the President.

94. B. Under Article 49 the Chairman of the Senate acts as President; if he is unable, the Speaker of the National Assembly does so.

95. A. The National Assembly has 336 seats: 266 general seats, 60 reserved for women and 10 for non-Muslims.

96. D. The Senate had 104 members; once FATA's 8 seats lapsed after the merger, the total became 96.

97. A. The Council of Common Interests is created by Article 153; since the 18th Amendment it is chaired by the Prime Minister and must meet at least once every 90 days.

98. C. Article 160 requires the President to constitute the National Finance Commission at intervals not exceeding five years.

99. B. General Zia-ul-Haq established the Federal Shariat Court in 1980; its powers are set out in Chapter 3A (Article 203-C onwards).

100. A. Article 218 provides for the Election Commission and Article 228 for the Council of Islamic Ideology, an advisory body; Article 168 covers the Auditor-General. The Council of Islamic Ideology advises Parliament and the provincial assemblies on whether laws conform to Islam, but its advice is not binding.