O Level Pakistan Studies History chapter 5: Nationhood: 1947 to 1971 MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

51 exam-style questions on Nationhood: 1947 to 1971, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

51 questions · 5 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 5 covers

Ten Nationhood: 1947 to 1971 questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. What role did India play in the events of 1971?

  1. A
    it stayed neutral and mediated through the UN
  2. B
    it supported the Pakistan army against the rebels
  3. C
    it ran refugee camps but took no military part
  4. D
    it backed the Mukti Bahini and invaded in December
Show answer

Answer: D. India also sheltered millions of refugees; its forces entered East Pakistan in December 1971 and the war there ended within about two weeks.

2. What was unusual about the results of the 1970 elections?

  1. A
    the PPP won a majority of seats in both wings
  2. B
    the two leading parties each won in only one wing
  3. C
    no party won any seat in East Pakistan
  4. D
    the Muslim League won most seats in both wings
Show answer

Answer: B. The Awami League won almost every East Pakistan seat but none in the West, while the PPP led in the West; this made power-sharing very difficult.

3. How did the cyclone of November 1970 add to Bengali grievances?

  1. A
    the central relief effort was seen as slow
  2. B
    West Pakistan refused all foreign aid
  3. C
    the cyclone destroyed the port of Karachi
  4. D
    the army was moved to West Pakistan instead
Show answer

Answer: A. Hundreds of thousands died; anger at the response added to support for the Awami League in the December elections.

4. Who was Ayub Khan's main opponent in the 1965 presidential election?

  1. A
    Fatima Jinnah
  2. B
    Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
  3. C
    Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman
  4. D
    Khawaja Nazimuddin
Show answer

Answer: A. The combined opposition backed Fatima Jinnah; Ayub won through the votes of the Basic Democrats.

5. Why did the refugee crisis place such pressure on Pakistan in 1947–48?

  1. A
    most refugees came from Afghanistan after a civil war
  2. B
    millions of refugees needed food, shelter and work
  3. C
    the refugees were mainly Sikh farmers moving to Sindh
  4. D
    refugees went only to East Pakistan, which had no money
Show answer

Answer: B. Muslim refugees poured in, especially into the Punjab and Karachi, while Hindus and Sikhs left for India.

6. What did the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961 do?

  1. A
    made Friday the weekly holiday
  2. B
    introduced the Hudood punishments
  3. C
    required zakat deductions from banks
  4. D
    regulated marriage, divorce and polygamy
Show answer

Answer: D. It required marriages to be registered and permission before a second marriage. Hudood and zakat deductions were introduced by Zia.

7. What difficulty arose over the division of military assets?

  1. A
    Pakistan received most of the army but no officers
  2. B
    much of Pakistan's share never arrived
  3. C
    Britain kept all military equipment for itself
  4. D
    the navy was given entirely to India
Show answer

Answer: B. All the ordnance factories were in India, and Pakistan received far less than its share of stores and weapons, weakening its defence.

8. Which new capital city was planned and built under Ayub Khan?

  1. A
    Karachi
  2. B
    Rawalpindi
  3. C
    Islamabad
  4. D
    Lahore
Show answer

Answer: C. The capital moved from Karachi; Rawalpindi served as the temporary capital while Islamabad was built.

9. What was the Tashkent Declaration of January 1966?

  1. A
    a treaty sharing the Indus waters, mediated by the World Bank
  2. B
    a Soviet-mediated agreement ending the 1965 war
  3. C
    a US-backed plan to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir
  4. D
    an agreement with China to build the Karakoram Highway
Show answer

Answer: B. Ayub Khan and Lal Bahadur Shastri agreed to withdraw to pre-war positions. The Indus Waters Treaty was 1960.

10. How did Khawaja Nazimuddin's time as Prime Minister end in 1953?

  1. A
    he lost a general election to the Awami League
  2. B
    he was assassinated at a rally in Rawalpindi
  3. C
    he resigned to become Governor-General
  4. D
    the Governor-General dismissed him
Show answer

Answer: D. Ghulam Muhammad dismissed him despite his majority in the Assembly, after food shortages and riots in Lahore. Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951.

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Ways to practise this chapter

Nationhood: 1947 to 1971: questions students ask

How many Nationhood: 1947 to 1971 MCQs are there?

51, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 5 topics: The initial problems of Pakistan, 1947-1948, The Princely States, Kashmir and the Canal Water Dispute, Governments and constitution-making, 1948-1958, Muhammad Ayub Khan and the 'Decade of Progress', 1958-1969, Yahya Khan and the creation of Bangladesh, 1969-1971. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the O Level Pakistan Studies History chapter 5 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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