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Some Information About Pakistan

Gilgit is the capital of Northern Areas of Pak

? Khushhal Khan belonged to English period.

?The alphabet of Pushto was prepared by Saifullah.

?First poet of Pushto was Amir Karar.

?Saiful Maluk is near Naran.

?Dera Adam khan is famous for Gun factory.

?Durand line is b/w Peshawar and Afghanistan.

?Pakistan Forest Institution is located in Peshawar.

?Bala Hassan Fort was built by Babrat at Peshawar.

? Saidu Sharif is a lake in NWFP.

?British took Peshawar from Sikhs.

?Population-wise NWFP stands 3rd.

?Area-wise it is 4th.

?Lands down Bridge connect Sukkur with Rohri.

?Guddu Barrage was completed in 1932.

?Real name of Qalandar Lal Shahbaz is Shaikh Usman Marvindi.

?In 1973 constitution there are 290 articles.

?Pak: comprises of 61% of mountainous area.

? Name of Ustad Bukhari is Syed Ahmed Shah.

?Real name of Shaikh Ayaz is Shaikh Mubarak.

? Barrages on Indus are Toonsa, Jinnah, Sukkur, Gudo, Kotri & Ghulam Mohd:.

?Ports and harbours are Kimari (Kar: ), Bin Qasim (Kar:

?Jinnah Naval Base (ormara), Gawadar (Baluc: ), Panjgore (Baluch: ).

? Deserts of Pak: Thar (Sindh), Thal (Punjab), Cholistan (Punjab).

? Famous glaciers are Siachen, Batura, Baltoro.

?Mountain Ranges are Himaliya, Koradoram, Hindu Kash, Sulaiman and Salt Range.

?Tomb of Babur is in Kabul.

?Real name of Noor Jahan (Wife of Jahangir) was Mehrun Nisa.

?NADRA was setup in Feb: 16, 2000.

? The master plan of Islamabad was prepared in 1960 by MIS Constructinos Doxiades (of Greek).

?National Institute of Oceanlogy Karachi =1982.
Pak: test fired Ghauri missile in April 6, 1998.

?First nuclear reactor was setup in Karachi.

?Pak:’s first agriculture university setup in Faisalabad.

?Chomas festival is held in Kalash valley near Chitral.

?Nearest provincial capital from Islamabad is Peshawar.

?Tomb of Hamayoon is in Delhi.

?Tomb of Jahangir is at Lahore.

?National Assembly has 60 women seats.

?National anthem was written in 1954.

?Gandhara civilization discovered from Texila.

?Social Action Plan launched in 1992-93.

? Rahmat Ali suggested name of Pakistan on 28th Jan: 1933 in “Now or Never” pamphlet in London.

? Rehmat Ali was born in 1893 in a village Mohar district Hoshiyarpur (East Punjab).

?Rahmat Ali died at the age of 58 in 1951 and was buried in Cambridge University.

?Ancient name of Peshawar was Phushkalvati.

? India framed its constitution in 1950.

?Kara korum Highway (Silkroute) B/w Pak: & China was completed on 18th June, 1978.

?Jamrood Fort (Peshawar) was built by General Hari Singh Nalwa in 1836.

?Landi Khani is the end of the main line of Railway system of Pakistan.

?Cholistan desert is in Bahawlpur district.

? Harpa is in Sahiwal.

?Bhambhore is in Thatta.

? Firdousi, the Persian poet (Shah Nama) was the member of Sultan Mehmood’s court.

?Tomb of Baba Farid is in Pak Patan.

?Tomb of Sachal is in Ranipur.

?Nishtar Hospital is the largest hospital in Pakistan and was built in 1953.

?A.H means Anne Hegirae (Latin Term) =13th Sep: 622 A.D.

?Nanga Parbat is situated in Himalayan.

? Total arable land of Pakistan is 27%.

?Pakistan is situated at the West End of the Indo Gangetic.

?Wakhan separates Pakistan from Tajikistan.

?Hindu-kush range is also known as Little Pamirs.

? Sub-Himalya is also known as Siwaliks.

?The Sindh Sagar Doab is also known as Thal Desert.

?Takt-I-Suleman is the highest peak of Sulaiman Mountains.

?The length of Indus River is 2900 km.

?Six barrages are constructed on the River Indus.

? Hispar Glacies is located in Hunza.

? The famous Umar Kot fort was built in 1746.

? Katch and Gawadar are the districts of Makran Division.

? Punjgore is the district of Makran division.

?Meaning of Quetta is fort.

?Gomal River is in NWFP.

Some Information About Pakistan Read More »

Articles, English, General Knowledge, Test

How to Improve English Language for CSS / PMS Exams?

Improving English language is imperative for success in CSS. Not only that the very initial couple of papers – English Essay and Précis & Composition – filter out most of the candidates not well versed with English writing skills, the candidates are also required to attempt all papers in English language. Having a good English grammatical foundation is indispensable in this regard.

The best way to improve understanding of English grammar is to study and acquaint oneself with rules of English grammar. A very useful book to learn basic rules of English grammar is ‘English Grammar in Use’ by Raymond Murphy. It contains grammar rules with exercises to help you find out and correct your mistakes.

Read any popular book on CSS English. It helps candidates prepare for examination by focusing specifically on English Précis & Composition paper. Following guidelines would help you improve your writing skills:

Reading:

Read, read, and read is the rule for improving your writing skills. Give at least a couple of hours daily to reading books.

Quality Books:

Try to read books written by foreign authors who are native English speakers.

Articles:

Regularly read articles on topics of your interest.

Newspaper:

Reading newspapers regularly is a must.

News:

Try to follow English news bulletins. It would enrich your current affairs vocabulary.

English-only:

Make a habit and read English, write English, converse in English. It would automatically enable you to start thinking in English.

Notes-making:

Take notes while reading articles or listening to current affairs programmes.

Dictionary:

Maintain a personalized dictionary. Note down words that you find interesting and write their synonyms as well. This habit would give you a useful collection of words and phrases to be used in your scripts.

Chat Rooms & Blogs:

Try to engage in chat forums. In such forums, you have to respond quickly which sharpens your thought process. Moreover, you learn from others’ argumentation.

Public Speaking:

Always look for chances to speak in a group or in front of class. It helps you as you prepare yourself for such occasions and rectify your mistakes through internal feedback.

Revising your write-ups:

Make a habit of editing your scripts. Take help of dictionary and thesaurus and do not hesitate to substitute your phrases and words with more suitable ones. Even if you have to re-write the whole script, do it.

Guidance:

It is important to get your work checked by someone well versed with basic rules of English grammar.

Constructive Criticism:

Always be open to positive criticism for there is always a room for improvement.

How to Improve English Language for CSS / PMS Exams? Read More »

Articles, Current Affairs, English, English Grammar, Guidelines

Kuldip Nayar Quiz

1- When was Kuldip Nayar born?
  • Correct Answer: 14 August 1923
2- Where was Kuldip Nayar born?
  • Correct Answer: Sialkot
3- Where did Kuldip Nayar study journalism?
  • Correct Answer: Medill School
4- When was Kuldip Nayar Press Officer of Press Information Bureau?
  • Correct Answer: 1954-1964
5- When was Kuldip Nayar Editor of The Statesman?
  • Correct Answer: 1967-1975
6-  When was The Judgement published?
  • Correct Answer: 1977
7-  Where did Kuldip Nayar represent India as High Commissioner?
  • Correct Answer: UK
8- Which book has Kuldip Nayar’s articles on relations between India and Pakistan?
  • Correct Answer: Wall at Wagah
9-  When did Kuldip Nayar die?
  • Correct Answer: 23 August 2018
10-  Where did Kuldip Nayar die?
  • Correct Answer: Delhi

Kuldip Nayar Quiz Read More »

MCQs / Q&A, Personalities, Political Science

MY JOURNEY TO CSS by: Muhammad Ali Asghar (PAS)

Allah has indeed been kind upon me for my success in the CE-2010, and even more so at the interview part. I am humbled by the honor Almighty has given me. I would briefly share a few of my observations:

1. Clarity of Purpose:

As a first step, I consider that it is extremely important to be very clear right at the start of this journey as to why do you want to join the Civil Service or even why do you wish to attempt for the Competitive Exam. Different people have different motivations. You need to be really sure about yours. If you want to join the Civil Service for prestige, honour, power, authority, ‘dandda’, public service, then so be it and own it. There is no need to be ashamed of your reasons, be they knightly/saintly or knavish/selfish. If you are just following others in the lead, even then be clear about it. This brings us to our second point:

2. Motivation:

Once you have the clarity of purpose, you should evaluate that whether you have a desire sufficient enough to sustain you through a two year long duration. You need to be really motivated enough to work hard, motivated enough to sit back at home and indulge in a really non-interesting activity of studying boring stuff. You need to be motivated enough to counter all arguments of friends and relatives who would try to dissuade you from joining Civil Service on the way. And lastly you should be motivated enough to be persistent throughout two years in face of all adverse news you would hear and read in media about Civil Service. In short, motivation is your manna and fuel which will keep you going throughout this time. Many people do not give adequate importance to this aspect, but to me, it is the single most important element which feeds into others.

3. Dedicated Activity:

I find it really hard to buy the idea that one can continue to do a job and prepare for CSS simultaneously and ultimately score a high merit. If the aim is just to pass and get any allocation then probably yes, one can do it. But if the aim is to get the allocation of your choice and that too in a crystal clear respectable manner then you have to quite all other things, including your job, sit back home, develop a routine and seek agreement from parents and other family members that you would not be disturbed for one year at least. This leads to Point 4:

4. Commitment of Parents/Family:

It is very important to bring your parents and family on board. If they are committed to your cause and believe in it, then they must not only provide you with a conducive environment, but should also be a source of encouragement to you. This translates into you not being disturbed for routine household chores or you being forced to attend family dinners, parties and weddings etc. Your routine should take preference over all family matters for one year, unless once in a while you yourself want to get out and relax a little. This feeds into Point 5:

5. Room for Relaxation:

My father once told me that no horse in a Gymkhana can run 4 circuits of the race consecutively. The horse ultimately runs out of breath. Some horses make a sprint at the start and take the lead and then level off; others save it for the end. This means, you need to continuously release pressure during the preparation. You would be a fool to expect that you can lock yourself in a room for one year and study 10 hours per day. You will soon run out of steam. So, continue to meet friends and socialize, at least once a week. Plus, keep some energy for the end months when it would be most required.

6. Subject Selection:

I am not at all a believer of the idea that some subjects can be scoring and others not. I took Indo-Pak History and Journalism, the two most beaten subjects in the CE-2010, and still I managed to score into single digit merit. And I stand vindicated in my stance. So, select a subject which first of all interests you and at the same time lessens your load. Go for those subjects which overlap like Indo-Pak with Pakistan Affairs, and Public Administration with Political Science.

7. Be Simple:

I am a Computer Engineer but I never opted Computer Science, although it would have been fairly easy for me. Also someone might ask, if I can’t clear the Computer Science paper, who can? But selecting Computer Science as a subject would have meant revising a 4 year syllabus for only a 100 marks paper. I didn’t need to prove any one by selecting the subject that I am good at Computer Science. My aim was to become an officer and I opted subjects which are in the mainstream chosen by almost everyone, for whom adequate material is available in the market and elsewhere, and for which I can always seek help.

7. Current Affairs is the key:

Although Current Affairs is a 100 marks subject, but in recent times, it can be very easily observed that every paper has at least a couple of questions relating to current situation in our country and society. So, the more time you spend on current affairs, the more you would ultimately benefit in almost every paper. My suggestion would be to keep a 65-35 ratio with almost 35% of your entire CSS preparation focused on current affairs and 65% on routine books for subjects. Diversify your source of Current Affairs knowledge beyond DAWN (which is definitely the best newspaper for CSS). This would include journals from IPS, PIPS and IRS etc.
I think it would be a mere repetition if I say what everyone else has said time and again that there is simply no short cut to success. Hard work is the key. An average of 8 hours per day and an almost same number of months is what would get you to your dream occupational group with certainty and respect.
But, I must admit that this preparation has brought me a lot closer to the Almighty, and I would not be ashamed to say that I believe, the Almighty listens to my prayers. Closeness only comes if you get close to God, for He is always there to accommodate you.
Apart from the above, please keep in mind the following for preparation of interview:
  1. First of all, everyone must understand that the Interview part (Viva + Psychological) is almost as important as the written portion, if not more. Whereas we all tend to work really hard for the written, spending almost a year preparing it, we take the interview very lightly. Some people even say, there is simply no need to prepare at all. I beg to differ with them for Interview does require preparation. The reason I say interview is very important is that all the candidates who clear the written examination have their scores lying in a narrow band of around 100 marks (between 610 and 710 marks). This means that at this stage 300 marks of interview gives you a good leverage to make the difference. A high score of above 200 could very well land you in top 20~30 positions even if your written score is just an average one along with 600 or so other candidates.
  2. The second reason I emphasize on interview is that in my opinion it requires almost as much hard work as the written part. A dedicated preparation of 2~3 months, preferably even before or immediately after the announcement of written result would be my recommendation. Again, you must understand that by scoring 240 marks in interview, you can take a lead of almost 100 marks from a candidate who did just average in interview scoring around 150 or so.
  3. The third most important thing to realize is that Psychological assessment is a very significant component of the whole interview part. In my personal opinion it is even more important than the viva voce. The reason I say this is that the Psychiatrists spend two complete days judging almost every single aspect of your personality in depth. The personality profile prepared by them is given a lot of weightage by the FPSC panel, increasing so in recent years. They sort of go along with the advice of the professionals, and only reconfirm their assessment through different questioning techniques. The variation between the psychologists and FPSC panel cannot be markedly large. So, give you best effort to prepare for this part so that the psychologists draw a good personality profile of you and recommend you as an officer material.
  4. Prepare for group discussions and command tasks with your friends and other qualifiers. At this stage, you can also join an academy where you would have a chance to interact with many students at one place, something you cannot do on your own. Within the group discussions, adopt a stance which is moderate (not to extremist on either side). Your argument should be backed by logic and evidence. Your choice of words should be mild, but your tone should be firm and give an aura of seriousness. There is no need to shout and raise your voice unnecessarily merely to capture attention or drive your point. If your point is valid, it will be registered even with a soft voice. This way, an even better impact would be created that you are confident on your knowledge and argument and do not need the support of your oratory.
  5. For the Command Task take time to properly explain the problem to your team members instead of rushing through at this point. If your team does not fully understand your problem, they would be unable to help you or contribute in your problem. A few seconds saved at this stage can in fact cost you later. Once the problem is explained to team members, ask them if they have completely understood it. If any member is unclear on any aspect of the problem, this would be a good time to clarify things. This would also give a positive impression that as a leader you take care of how your subordinates comprehend you. In my frank opinion, there is no need to pre-assign designations and appointments. While wrapping up the discussions, you can simply point to your team members and assign them tasks.
  6. Try to think through different questions which might be asked on your personality both in the proforma as well as by the psychologist panel. Instead of these questions coming to you as a surprise, it is better that you have done some working on them. Questions like, your fondest childhood memory, things you like and dislike about your parents and friends, your domiciled district etc need to be prepared before hand. The forum would contain lots of questions asked by the psychologists to different batches.
  7. For the viva voce, try to build the opinions on different issues. Try to ask yourself questions. Read one or two newspapers. If possible start reading TIME and NEWSWEEK. Again, on your own, work out small questions on any issue that can be asked from different angles. You should have answers to cover these angles. At this stage, also go through actual statutes, laws and provisions of constitution that are often referred to in news item and articles. For instance, if Section 295 (Blasphemy Laws) of CrPC is mentioned repeatedly in press and media, you should read and understand the actual provisions verbatim. One good online source for such documents is: The Constitution of Pakistan and Pakistan’s Legislative History

I hope it helps. You can ask me about specifics, which I might have missed out.

Again, it is a personal belief, but God is the One Who has helped me beyond my capabilities. I was able to do CSS and an MSc from LSE UK in parallel. I got such high marks in interview and passed the essay paper on edge. So, get close to Him!

Regards, and Best of Luck

MY JOURNEY TO CSS by: Muhammad Ali Asghar (PAS) Read More »

Articles, Current Affairs, History, Political Science

IS IMF AVOIDABLE? (By Shahid Kardar)

IT is now generally recognised that we face the herculean task of settling our external obligations. However, what is less widely understood is that the structural factors underlying the massive current account deficit of and the rapidly growing debt repayments have made the present crisis deeper and more protracted in nature (especially with the rising price of oil). In the short-term the external financing gap presents a formidable challenge with the more immediate requirement likely to be $28 billion for the current year.
And the fiscally irresponsible budget for 2018-19 tabled by the outgoing government is expected to worsen both the external and domestic imbalances, thereby queering the pitch for the next government, making its task even more daunting, both economically and politically (the latter may just make the withdrawal of the income tax concessions almost impossible).

 

An IMF programme has become unavoidable because no amount of external flows from friendly countries and bonds taken up by our diaspora will be able to meet the financing requirement of $75bn over three years. This die was cast some time ago and while some respite has been provided by the recently acquired Chinese loans, dithering and procrastination in starting discussions with the IMF will weaken our negotiating position with each passing day.
More importantly, even a double-digit IMF assistance (more than our actual entitlement) will be spread over a three-year period. This will result in available resources(including aid from the World Bank and ADB) falling well short of the funds required to settle this year`s liabilities, unless the new government undertakes politically unpopular adjustments. These adjustments (briefly highlighted below) are likely to include further depreciation of the rupee, partly because the pressure on the rupee and the foreign exchange reserves is not likely to subside anytime soon following the initiation of `global currency wars` as one outcome of the trade wars. This revision will address the issue of creeping speculation against the rupee while improving the competitiveness of our exports.
Next, to maintain reserves at a level that can cover at least two months of imports we will need to curb imports by at least 15 percent lower (covering items beyond just consumer products). To achieve this objective supplementary measures, like broader application of cash margins and upward revisions in customs duties, will be required, which will admittedly lead to a compression in growth.
Corrective measures would extend to further enhancement of interest rates. The regime of low-interest rates even after the 14pc depreciation of the rupee continues to disincentivise savings in rupee-denominated financial instruments that would provide funds for investment (incentive worsened by the withholding tax on banking transactions). Not surprisingly, rupee deposits have grown by only 7pc (just above the interest earned during 2018 on rupee deposits at the beginning of the year July 1, 2107) while the net increase in the National Savings Schemes is actually negative! Admittedly, this measure will also have a dampening effect on growth.
Only by entering into an IMF programme will we be able to ease the pain of correction. The adoption of a Fund programme will not only facilitate the mobilisation of funds from multilaterals but also improve our access to international capital markets (both in terms of tenor and interest rates), thereby enabling a gradual and less painful path for undertaking the long delayed essential external adjustments.
The World Bank and the ADB, however, can at best provide $2bn each. But these funds are contingent upon the availability of a `certificate of good behaviour`/comfort letter from the IMF, requiring our endorsement of a Fund programme. Moreover, the $4bn from these institutions is not likely to flow into our coffers in full. Their assistance is now essentially in the form of project aid. And going forward we may not have the absorptive capacity to utilise these volumes. In the short-term there will have to be an inevitable sharp pruning of the rupee component of the Public Sector Development Programme (already cluttered with too many schemes) to cut the fiscal deficit to manageable levels, unless the development programme is rationalised involving a renewed focus on water and energy and the scrapping of schemes at the initial stages of implementation.
One hopes that the slowing down of the growth rate following the squeezing of imports will be less harsh as a consequence of a f aster rate of growth of exports and CPEC-related investments accompanied by timely payments of duty drawbacks and tax and GST refunds at the time of export receipts.
The inflationary impact of the measures above can partly be moderated by the utilisation of cheaper sources of energy through an improvement in the fuel mix and by adjusting downward the support and procurement prices of sugar and wheat to reflect the decline in international commodity prices.
Moving onto the issue of the fiscal deficit, the fiscal position of the federal government is highly compromised with limited room for maneuverability (more than 58pc of tax revenues being earmarked for the provinces). Such an outcome has been precipitated by the failure of the federal government to a) right-size itself af ter the 18th Amendment; b) to pass on any portion of the burden of energy and fertiliser subsidies and BISP allocations to the provinces; c) to stop the steady accumulation in losses of SOEs and its continued financing and execution of vertical programmes and intra-provincial projects.
To summarise the discussion above we are witnessing the brewing of a full-blown fiscal crisis. It should be obvious that the challenges identified above will literally consume the energies of the next government in its first year of office, requiring painful adjustments throughout the currency of its tenure (especially during what is generally referred to as the honeymoon period).
A fear is that the likely Fund programme would again be cluttered with too many performance criteria and targets, several of them covering subjects in which the IMF cannot claim core competence. Ideally, given the IMF`s technical capabilities the programme should only cover tax policy and structure, monetary policy and balance of payments. Regrettably, despite its acknowledged know-how of tax systems, the IMF has been guilty of supporting, on its watch, the development of a complex and dysfunctional tax regime and a cumbersome management system, resulting, for example, in a structure of almost 70 different types of withholding taxes and a legal category `non-filer`, thereby failing badly to induce fundamental sustainable reforms in the area of its expertise.
This article has deliberately chosen to remain silent on whether the IMF can be bludgeoned into translating the threat of the US Secretary of State into actual actions. It is not obvious how the Fund will be able to ring-fence its assistance to prevent its utilisation to settle our Chinese liabilities if the latter choose nether to reschedule their loans nor accept settlement through transfer of Pakistani assets.
Courtesy: Daily Dawn

IS IMF AVOIDABLE? (By Shahid Kardar) Read More »

Articles, World