General Knowledge and Current Affairs
The General Knowledge and Current Affairs section samples Pakistan and world geography, national institutions, science, sports, international organisations and events from the exam year. It rewards organised knowledge, not random memorisation: examiners recycle stable facts and test whether you can place a fact in the right category.
Core rules
- Pakistan geography: the Indus is the longest river; the five western tributaries join it; K2 is the highest peak; the Thar Desert lies in Sindh; the Khyber Pass links Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- Institutions: the State Bank of Pakistan manages monetary policy; the Senate and National Assembly form Parliament; the Supreme Court is the apex court.
- International bodies: UN headquarters in New York; OIC in Jeddah; SAARC in Kathmandu; IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC.
- Science and current affairs: revise basic units, planets, human body systems, and major appointments or events of the past twelve months.
Worked example
Which institution is responsible for Pakistan’s monetary policy? Reasoning: fiscal policy belongs to the Ministry of Finance; monetary policy - interest rate and money supply - is conducted by the State Bank of Pakistan under its founding Act. Choosing “Ministry of Finance” is the common error.
Traps that cost marks
- Memorising current officeholders without checking whether the question asks for the office or the person.
- Confusing dates: Pakistan’s nuclear tests were on 28 May 1998 at Chagai.
- Mixing headquarters: OIC is not in Cairo, and SAARC is not in New Delhi.
- Answering from a headline without reading the qualifier “first”, “largest” or “oldest”.