Pakistan trivia: 48 questions and answers

Islamabad. Islamabad is the capital, a planned city built in the 1960s. Karachi is the largest city and was the first capital, and Lahore is the second-largest city.

Pakistani rupee. Pakistan pays in the Pakistani rupee. The taka is Bangladesh's currency and the afghani is Afghanistan's.

Urdu. Urdu is the national language and, with English, an official language. Punjabi is the most common mother tongue, but it is not the national language.

Karachi. Karachi, the great port on the Arabian Sea, was the first capital. The government later moved north, and Islamabad was built in the 1960s.

True. True. Like India and the United Kingdom, Pakistan drives on the left.

The Indus Valley Civilisation. Mohenjo-daro was one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, with brick houses, straight streets and covered drains.

Bangladesh. After a nine-month war, East Pakistan became Bangladesh in December 1971.

Benazir Bhutto. Benazir Bhutto became prime minister in 1988 at 35 and served twice. Indira Gandhi led India, and Fatima Jinnah, the founder's sister, never held that office.

True. True. The All-India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka, then called Dacca, in December 1906.

False. False. Karachi was the capital from 1947 to 1959; Islamabad was built as the new capital in the 1960s.

The Jhelum, then called the Hydaspes. The battle was fought on the Jhelum, then called the Hydaspes, in today's Punjab. Soon after, Alexander's army refused to go further east.

Chicken karahi. Chicken karahi is named after the karahi, the pan it is cooked and served in. Unlike most curries of the region, it traditionally has no onions.

Morning. Nihari comes from the Arabic nahar, day or morning. It was first eaten as breakfast after the dawn prayer, and it is still a breakfast favourite.

Peshawar. The chapli kebab comes from Peshawar and is a favourite of Pashtun cooking.

Sheer khurma. Sheer khurma, Persian for milk and dates, is served for breakfast after the Eid prayer and offered to every guest that day.

False. False. Pakistani food is halal, so pork is not eaten. The main meats are beef, lamb, goat and chicken.

True. True. Lassi is yoghurt blended with water, made salty with cumin or sweet with sugar, and it comes from Punjab.

Haleem. Haleem is cooked for seven or eight hours and then beaten until smooth. It is especially popular during Ramadan.

Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi, known as Pindi, lies right next to Islamabad and served as the interim capital while Islamabad was built.

Faisalabad. Faisalabad, called Lyallpur until 1979, is the third-largest city and a centre of the textile industry.

Multan. Multan attracted many Sufi mystics in the Middle Ages, and its great brick shrines earned it the name City of Saints.

Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb built the Badshahi Mosque in 1671 to 1673, facing the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which he also built.

Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan, who also built the Taj Mahal in India, had the Shalimar Gardens laid out as a Persian paradise garden.

The Faisal Mosque. The Faisal Mosque, designed by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, was completed in 1986. It was the largest mosque in the world until 1993.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Mazar-e-Quaid is the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, called the Quaid-e-Azam. The poet Iqbal is buried in Lahore.

False. False. As of 2026 it is only on UNESCO's tentative list. The Lahore Fort across the square is a World Heritage Site, together with the Shalimar Gardens.

Gandhara. Taxila was one of the chief cities of Gandhara, famous for Buddhist learning and sculpture. It is a World Heritage Site.

Second. At 8,611 m, K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Everest, and one of the hardest to climb.

Pure. Pak means pure and stan means land, so Pakistan is often explained as the land of the pure.

Squash. Jahangir Khan played squash. Guinness World Records lists his streak as the longest by any athlete in top-level professional sport.

Salt. Khewra is the second-largest salt mine in the world. Its pink rock salt is sold as Himalayan salt.

A wild mountain goat with spiral horns. The markhor is a wild mountain goat with spiral horns, living in the mountains of the north and west.

True. True. Its eyes have no lens, so it navigates and hunts in the muddy Indus by echolocation.

True. True. The Tarbela Dam, completed in 1976 and 143 m high, is the largest earth-filled dam in the world.

The country's religious minorities. The green stands for the Muslim majority and the white stripe for the country's religious minorities.

Water. Paani means water. Bread is roti, tea is chai and rice is chawal.

False. False. Nahin means no. A polite yes is jee haan.

In a Perso-Arabic script, from right to left. Urdu is written in a Perso-Arabic script, from right to left, usually in the flowing Nastaliq style.

Friend. Dost means friend. A guest is mehmaan, a city is shehr and a river is darya.

Wa-alaikum assalam. Wa-alaikum assalam, and peace be upon you too, is the reply. Khuda hafiz means goodbye.

Yeh kitne ka hai?. Yeh kitne ka hai? means how much is this? Aap kaise hain? means how are you?

True. True. Mirch is chilli and kam means less, so mirch kam asks for a milder dish.

If God wills. Insha'Allah means if God wills. You will hear it after almost any plan for the future.

The Government of Pakistan's Online Visa System. Most visitors need a visa and apply on the Government of Pakistan's Online Visa System, visa.nadra.gov.pk.

15. Dial 15 for the police in Pakistan, and 1122 for an ambulance or the fire service.

True. True. Shoes are left at the entrance, and women should cover their hair with a scarf.

From about October to March. The plains are pleasant from about October to March. May and June can pass 45°C, and the monsoon brings heavy rain.

True. True. Security differs a great deal between regions. Read your own government's travel advice before planning a trip and again just before you leave.