Pakistan Affairs MCQs – Page 3 (Q21-30)

Karachi serves as the provincial capital of Sindh as well as Pakistan's largest city and commercial centre. It was also Pakistan's first national capital immediately after independence in 1947, before the capital was relocated first to Rawalpindi and later to Islamabad. The city is home to the Sindh Provincial Assembly and Governor's House, alongside major national institutions like the State Bank of Pakistan. Other significant Sindh cities include Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana, the last being the ancestral hometown of the Bhutto political family.

Peshawar is the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in South Asia with a history stretching back over 2,000 years as a key stop on the ancient Silk Road. It lies near the historic Khyber Pass, a strategic gateway connecting South Asia to Afghanistan and Central Asia, long used by traders, armies and invaders alike. The city's old quarters, including the famous Qissa Khwani Bazaar ('Storytellers' Market'), reflect its role as a major trading and cultural crossroads. Peshawar also houses the KP Provincial Assembly and remains a key centre for Pashtun culture and politics.

Quetta is the provincial capital of Balochistan, situated in a mountain-ringed valley at a relatively high altitude that gives it a cooler climate than much of Pakistan, earning it the nickname 'Fruit Garden of Pakistan' for its orchards. The city holds strategic importance near the Afghan border and the historic Bolan Pass trade route, and was severely damaged by a major earthquake in 1935. It hosts the Balochistan Provincial Assembly and Governor's House, along with key military institutions including the Command and Staff College. Gwadar, though smaller, has grown prominent recently as the province's deep-sea port central to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Muzaffarabad is the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the self-governing territory administered by Pakistan as part of the wider disputed Kashmir region. The city sits at the confluence of the Neelum and Jhelum rivers and was severely affected by the devastating October 2005 earthquake, which killed tens of thousands across the region. AJK has its own president, prime minister and legislative assembly, operating under a constitutional framework distinct from Pakistan's four provinces. Other notable AJK towns include Mirpur, known for overseas migration to the UK, and the hill resort of Rawalakot.

Gilgit is the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous northern territory of Pakistan renowned for hosting the meeting point of three of the world's great mountain ranges -- the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush. The region gained a Legislative Assembly and greater self-rule under the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order of 2009, though its final constitutional status remains tied to the broader Kashmir dispute. Gilgit-Baltistan is a gateway to famous peaks including K2 and Nanga Parbat, and to the Karakoram Highway linking Pakistan to China. Skardu, another major town in the region, serves as the main base for expeditions into the Karakoram range.

Tarbela Dam, built on the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is Pakistan's largest dam and one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world, completed in 1976. It plays a critical role in flood control, irrigation for Punjab and Sindh's agricultural belt, and hydroelectric power generation, supplying a significant share of the national grid. Mangla Dam, built earlier on the Jhelum River and completed in 1967, is Pakistan's second-largest reservoir. The much newer Diamer-Bhasha Dam, under construction on the Indus in Gilgit-Baltistan, is intended to eventually become the country's largest storage dam once finished.

Manchar Lake, located in Sindh near Sehwan, is Pakistan's largest freshwater lake and one of the largest in South Asia, fed by the Indus River through connecting canals. It has traditionally supported fishing communities, including the boat-dwelling Mohana people, though pollution and saline agricultural runoff have damaged its ecosystem in recent decades. Saif-ul-Malook, by contrast, is a smaller but scenic high-altitude lake near Naran in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, tied to a famous Punjabi folk legend. Attabad Lake in Hunza formed suddenly in 2010 after a landslide dammed the Hunza River, making it one of Pakistan's newest lakes.

K2 is the world's second-highest mountain at 8,611 metres, surpassed only by Mount Everest in Nepal at 8,849 metres. Located in the Karakoram range on the Pakistan-China border, K2 is widely regarded by mountaineers as more technically demanding and dangerous than Everest, with a much higher fatality rate among climbers who attempt its summit. It was first successfully climbed in 1954 by an Italian expedition team including Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli. Pakistan hosts five of the world's fourteen 'eight-thousander' peaks, making its northern mountains a premier destination for elite international climbers.

Pakistan shares land borders with four countries: India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and northwest, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast via the Karakoram Highway. Its border with India, known as the Radcliffe Line, was drawn in 1947 and remains a site of ongoing tension, particularly along the Line of Control in Kashmir. The Durand Line, marking the Afghan border since 1893, has long been a point of dispute regarding its legal status. Pakistan's coastline, meanwhile, borders the Arabian Sea to the south, giving the country its only maritime boundary.

The Arabian Sea lies to the south of Pakistan, forming the country's roughly 1,050-kilometre coastline along Sindh and Balochistan. This coastline hosts Pakistan's major ports, including Karachi Port, Port Qasim, and the deep-sea Gwadar Port, a centrepiece of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Arabian Sea is part of the northern Indian Ocean and serves as a crucial route for Pakistan's international maritime trade and naval activity. The Red Sea, Caspian Sea and Black Sea, by comparison, lie far to the west and have no direct connection to Pakistan's geography.