Current Affairs · Topic 4
Nobel prizes, Pakistan's civil and military awards, and Pakistani laureates.
Learn first
Learn how each award works and the Pakistani winners, then the latest winners.
Practise
Try each question, then open the answer. MCQs 1–50 of 232.
1.Nobel Prizes are presented every year on which date?
Answer: D. 10 December
10 December is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.
2.Who founded the Nobel Prizes?
Answer: A. Alfred Nobel
The Swedish inventor of dynamite left his fortune for the prizes.
3.The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in which year?
Answer: B. 1901
The prizes were first awarded in 1901.
4.The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in which city?
Answer: B. Oslo
The Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo; the others in Stockholm.
5.Which Nobel Prize was not in Alfred Nobel's will and was added in 1968?
Answer: B. Economic Sciences
The economics prize was created by Sweden's central bank.
6.Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025?
Answer: A. María Corina Machado
The Venezuelan opposition leader won for her struggle for democracy.
7.Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024?
Answer: B. Nihon Hidankyo
The Japanese group of atomic-bomb survivors won for its work against nuclear weapons.
8.Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023?
Answer: C. Narges Mohammadi
The Iranian activist won while in prison.
9.Who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024?
Answer: A. Han Kang
The South Korean writer was praised for her intense poetic prose.
10.Who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2025?
Answer: B. László Krasznahorkai
The Hungarian novelist won the 2025 prize.
11.The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics went to John Hopfield and which "godfather of AI"?
Answer: A. Geoffrey Hinton
They were honoured for discoveries that enabled machine learning with neural networks.
12.Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in which field?
Answer: A. Chemistry
He shared it with John Jumper and David Baker for protein structure work (AlphaFold).
13.The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics went to Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson for research on what?
Answer: B. How institutions shape prosperity
They studied how institutions affect the wealth of nations.
14.The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for developing what?
Answer: C. Metal-organic frameworks
Kitagawa, Robson and Yaghi won for metal-organic frameworks.
15.The 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for the discovery of what?
Answer: C. MicroRNA
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered microRNA.
16.Which Pakistani won the Nobel Prize in Physics?
Answer: B. Dr Abdus Salam
He shared the 1979 prize for electroweak unification.
17.Malala Yousafzai shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with whom?
Answer: C. Kailash Satyarthi
Satyarthi is an Indian campaigner against child labour.
18.How old was Malala Yousafzai when she won the Nobel Prize?
Answer: B. 17
She is the youngest Nobel laureate.
19.Which is the highest civil award of Pakistan?
Answer: A. Nishan-e-Pakistan
Nishan-e-Pakistan is the highest civil award, often given to heads of state.
20.Which is the highest civil award of Pakistan for merit given to its own citizens?
Answer: C. Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Nishan-e-Imtiaz is the top award in the "Imtiaz" (excellence) order.
21.Which is the correct order of the Imtiaz awards, highest first?
Answer: A. Nishan, Hilal, Sitara, Tamgha
Each order has four grades: Nishan, Hilal, Sitara and Tamgha.
22.The Pride of Performance award is given for excellence in which fields?
Answer: B. Arts, literature, sports and science
The President gives it to people from many fields.
23.Pakistan's civil awards are announced on which date?
Answer: C. 14 August
The awards are announced on Independence Day.
24.Pakistan's civil awards are conferred on which date?
Answer: C. 23 March
Investitures are held on Pakistan Day.
25.Who confers Pakistan's civil awards?
Answer: B. The President
The President confers the awards; governors hold ceremonies in the provinces.
26.Which is the highest military award of Pakistan?
Answer: D. Nishan-e-Haider
It is given for supreme bravery, almost always after death.
27.How many Pakistani soldiers have received the Nishan-e-Haider?
Answer: C. 11
Eleven recipients are usually counted.
28.Who was the first recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider?
Answer: D. Captain Raja Muhammad Sarwar
He was martyred in the Kashmir war of 1948.
29.Who was the youngest recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider?
Answer: D. Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas
He was 20 when he was martyred in 1971.
30.Who is the only Pakistan Air Force officer to receive the Nishan-e-Haider?
Answer: D. Rashid Minhas
Rashid Minhas crashed his plane to stop it being flown to India.
31.Major Raja Aziz Bhatti received the Nishan-e-Haider for which war?
Answer: A. 1965
He was martyred defending the BRB canal near Lahore.
32.Which two soldiers received the Nishan-e-Haider for the Kargil conflict of 1999?
Answer: C. Captain Karnal Sher Khan and Havildar Lalak Jan
Both were martyred in the Kargil sector.
33.Which officer received both the Sitara-e-Jurat and the Nishan-e-Haider?
Answer: A. Major Shabbir Sharif
He received the Sitara-e-Jurat in 1965 and the Nishan-e-Haider in 1971.
34.Which Nishan-e-Haider recipient was the first soldier below officer rank to receive it?
Answer: D. Sawar Muhammad Hussain
Sawar Muhammad Hussain was martyred in 1971.
35.The Hilal-e-Kashmir, awarded to Naik Saif Ali Janjua, is considered equal to which award?
Answer: B. Nishan-e-Haider
It is Azad Kashmir's highest gallantry award.
36.Which is the second highest military award of Pakistan?
Answer: C. Hilal-e-Jurat
Hilal-e-Jurat comes after the Nishan-e-Haider.
37.The PAF pilot M. M. Alam, famous for the 1965 war, received which awards?
Answer: A. Sitara-e-Jurat and bar
He was credited with shooting down several Indian aircraft in a minute.
38.Defence Day of Pakistan is observed on which date?
Answer: A. 6 September
It marks the defence of Lahore in the 1965 war.
39.Air Force Day of Pakistan is observed on which date?
Answer: B. 7 September
It marks the PAF's role in the 1965 war.
40.Navy Day of Pakistan is observed on which date?
Answer: D. 8 September
It marks the naval operation against Dwarka in 1965.
41.Youm-e-Takbeer, marking Pakistan's nuclear tests, is observed on which date?
Answer: D. 28 May
Pakistan tested its nuclear devices on 28 May 1998.
42.Kashmir Solidarity Day is observed on which date?
Answer: D. 5 February
Pakistan observes it every year on 5 February.
43.Which award is called the "Nobel Prize of Asia"?
Answer: D. Ramon Magsaysay Award
It is named after a President of the Philippines.
44.Which Pakistanis received the Ramon Magsaysay Award?
Answer: D. Abdul Sattar Edhi and Bilquis Edhi
The Edhis received it in 1986.
45.Which award is called the "Nobel Prize of computing"?
Answer: B. Turing Award
It is given by the Association for Computing Machinery.
46.Which award is the highest honour in mathematics, given every four years to mathematicians under 40?
Answer: C. Fields Medal
The Fields Medal is awarded at the International Congress of Mathematicians.
47.The Pulitzer Prize is given mainly for what?
Answer: B. Journalism, literature and music in the US
It was founded by Joseph Pulitzer.
48.The Booker Prize is given for what?
Answer: A. The best novel in English
It is awarded each year in the UK.
49.Who won the Booker Prize in 2024 for "Orbital"?
Answer: A. Samantha Harvey
The novel is set on the International Space Station.
50.The Oscars are awards for which field?
Answer: A. Films
They are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Test yourself
Each quiz has 50 MCQs from this topic and 50 minutes. A correct answer earns 1 mark and each wrong answer takes off 0.25; skipped questions score nothing. No password needed.
