From which city did the Taliban movement originate in Afghanistan?
- (A) Kabul
- (B) Herat
- (C) Kandahar
- (D) Nangarhar
- (C) Kandahar
TALIBAN group started off in Kandahar, a city in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban movement was formed in September 1994, with Mullah Omar’s group composed of religious students, called the ‘talibs’ or ‘taliban’ in Afghan-Pashto, who were recruited from several rural Islamic schools or ‘madrasas’ located in Kandahar and Uruzgan. At the start, they managed to attract an audience by promising to restore order, safety, and Sharia law to areas that had been disrupted by corruption, robbers, and rival warlord battles since the Soviet troops left.
Which cities of Iran and Pakistan are linked through railway line?
- (A) Quetta-Zahedan
- (B) Chaman-Tehran
- (C) Quetta-Sheraz
- (D) Peshawar-Sheraz
- (A) Quetta-Zahedan
THE principal train link between Iran and Pakistan connects Quetta and Zahedan. This link is called the Quetta-Taftan Railway Line; it is also known as Main Line-4. It connects the cities of Zahedan and Quetta, passing via the border town of Taftan. Until recently, the Zahedan Mixed Passenger train covered the route. Now, the route is vital for the freight train including the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train.
“Haifa” is the seaport of:
- (A) Israel
- (B) Lebanon
- (C) Egypt
- (D) Syria
- (A) Israel
HAIFA serves as Israel’s seaport, being its largest and most important port. It is a vital transit hub for the region and a significant hub for Mediterranean cargo and tourism. It is one of the three main ports of Israel, a country known for its considerable cargo traffic and tourism, particularly for cruise ships.
The Head Office of UNESCO is located in:
- (A) London (United Kingdom)
- (B) Paris (France)
- (C) Geneva (Switzerland)
- (D) Washington DC (America)
- (B) Paris (France)
UNESCO’s primary headquarters is located in Paris, France. This headquarters is situated at 7 Place de Fontenoy in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, not far from the Eiffel Tower. The complex officially opened its doors on November 3, 1958, and was designed by architects Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, and Pier Luigi Nervi.
What is the main cause of earthquakes?
- (A) Volcanic activities
- (B) Movement of tectonic plates
- (C) Tectonic dislocation
- (D) All of the above
- (D) All of the above
ALTHOUGH movement of the plates (B) is responsible for 90% of global earthquakes, the other factors play a significant role as well:
– Movement of tectonic plates: Most quakes happen in areas where large pieces of the Earth’s crust are meeting, sliding past one another, colliding with one another, or moving apart.
– Volcanic Activity: When the position of the magma changes, it may crack rocks and alter pressure, thereby causing volcanic earthquakes and/or tremors.
– Movement of tectonic plates: Most quakes happen in areas where large pieces of the Earth’s crust are meeting, sliding past one another, colliding with one another, or moving apart.
– Volcanic Activity: When the position of the magma changes, it may crack rocks and alter pressure, thereby causing volcanic earthquakes and/or tremors.
– Tectonic dislocation: This is a sudden break or shift in rocks, taking place on a fault line.
The term “Digital Divide” is related with:
- (A) Economics
- (B) Gap in socio-economic technology era
- (C) Mass Communication
- (D) Political Science
- (B) Gap in socio-economic technology era
THE concept known as the Digital Divide refers to the divide between people, organizations, and geographic locations representing different socio-economic status levels with reference to their opportunities to enable access to information and communication technologies (ICT), and their actual usage of the internet for general purposes.
In which year Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was established?
- (A) 1864
- (B) 1880
- (C) 1882
- (D) 1884
- (D) 1884
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was selected as the universal standard at the International Meridian Conference in Washington D.C. in 1884. GMT had already been in use as “British Railway Time” in 1847 and was officially implemented across Great Britain in 1880.
Who is the author of the book “The Struggle for Pakistan”?
- (A) I.H. Qureshi
- (B) Shahid Rafique
- (C) Muhammad Waqas Joya
- (D) Arshad Hussain Dogar
- (A) I.H. Qureshi
“The Struggle for Pakistan” is a historical book written by I. H. Qureshi, a renowned Pakistani historian. In this book, the author has discussed the historical, social, and political movements which, at the end of 1947, formed the country of Pakistan. The role of Muslim intellectuals, particularly of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, has also been addressed in this historical reading. The historical reading is important for any individual seeking to understand the history of the Pakistan Movement.
Ayesha Jalal’s book is titled “The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics”. First published in 2014, it is a detailed account of the history of Pakistan, its political evolution, from 1947 to the present, with special emphasis on its military, bureaucracy, and religion.
Who was the third founding member of RCD along with Pakistan and Iran?
- (A) Syria
- (B) Afghanistan
- (C) Turkey
- (D) Turkmenistan
- (C) Turkey
THE third founding nation of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) together with Pakistan and Iran was Turkey (also known as Turkiye in history). The RCD was formed on July 21, 1964, as a trilateral intergovernmental organization to facilitate socio-economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among the three founding nations, as a regional bloc, especially for the members of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). This regional bloc was headquartered in Tehran and was later renamed and reformed as the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in 1985.
How many zeros are there in one trillion?
- (A) Twelve
- (B) Ten
- (C) Thirteen
- (D) Fourteen
- (A) Twelve
IN the small scale that’s normally used in the U.S. and most English-speaking countries, one trillion contains 1,000,000,000,000, which is equal to twelve zeros.
Previously, across certain areas of Europe, the long scale was used, with a trillion equalling 1,000,000,000,000,000 (eighteen zeroes). Currently, in England, today the 12-zero version is the standard in English.