CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK POINTERS
1) The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a
Eurasian political, economic and security alliance
of 8 countries, founded in Shanghai on 15th June,
2001. It is headquartered in Beijing, China. The
forerunner of the SCO was the Shanghai-5, which
was set up on April 26th, 1996 and comprised
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Tajikistan. Then when Uzbekistan joined in June
2001 it became the SCO. Pakistan has been an
observer with the SCO since 2005 and applied for
full membership of the organisation in 2010. The
decision to give membership to Pakistan was
taken, in principle, at a meeting of the SCO heads
of states in Ufa, Russia, in 2015. Pakistan and
India formally became full members during the
17th meeting of its Heads of the State Council on
9th June, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
2) The 18th SCO Summit was scheduled on June
9-10 in Qingdao, the coastal city of Shandong
province in China. The 19th SCO Summit or the
Bishkek Summit held on June 13-14, 2019 in
Kyrgyzstan. Chinese President Xi Jinping was
conferred with Manas Order of the First Degree,
the highest national award of Kyrgyzstan.
3) Exercise SCO Peace Mission 2018 held from
August 22 to 29, 2018 at Chebarkul, Russia. This
exercise takes place every two years.
4) The SCO member states held the first joint
anti-terrorism exercise, Sary Arka Anti terror
2019, announced during the 34th meeting of
the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure
(RATS) council held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The meeting also announced the holding of the
first joint border operation, Solidarity 2019-21.
5) The U.S. on February 10, 2020 removed more
than a dozen countries, including India, from its
list of countries that are classified as ‘developing’
for trade purposes. The status owes its origin to
the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which authorised the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to help
poor countries develop faster.
6) The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out in the
wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early
1990s, when Armenia's armed forces invaded
Azerbaijan and occupied the region.
7) Yangon, also called Rangoon, was the capital city
of independent Myanmar (Burma) from 1948 to
2006, when the government officially proclaimed
the city Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw) as its capital.
8) The northern Indian city of Allahabad renamed
Prayagraj in 2018 likewise - Bombay to Mumbai,
Calcutta to Kolkata, Madras to Chennai.
9) Kazakhstan renamed its capital Astana to
Nur-sultan to honour outgoing President
Nursultan Nazarbayev who resigned on 19th
March, 2019 after nearly 30 years in office.
Astana, which means capital in Kazakh, became
the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, taking over
from Almaty, still the country's commercial hub
and largest population centre.
10) Ufa is the capital of the Republic of
Bashkortostan in Russia. It is located between
the Volga River and the Ural Mountains.
11) Eagle is the national emblem of Spain.
Prepared and Compiled by Aamir Mahar
12) Laraib Atta– the daughter of popular singer
Attaullha Essa Khelvi, from southern Punjab
–became the first Pakistani was nominated in
the Visual Effects Society Award 2019. The 17th
Visual Effects Society Award was held on 5th
February 2019 in Los Angeles.
13) The then Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf
on October 12, 1999 overthrow the elected
government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in
retaliation for his decision to sack him.
14) On November 3rd, 2007, President Musharraf
declared a state of emergency and suspended the
1973 Constitution, rendering as many as 61
judges of the superior judiciary, including Chief
Justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry, dysfunctional.
15) After a nine-year rule, President Musharraf
resigned on August 18th, 2008 from office,
averting the possibility of impeachment.
16) A special court in Islamabad on December 17th,
2019 found former military ruler retired Gen
Pervez Musharraf guilty of high treason and
handed him a death sentence under Article 6 of
the Constitution of 1973. The verdict was split 2-1.
The three-member bench of the special court —
headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice
Waqar Ahmad Seth and comprising Justice
Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and
Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court
(LHC) — announced the verdict.
17) The punishment for high treason is death or
lifetime imprisonment, according to the High
Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973.
18) Renowned British music producer Andy
Weatherall died aged 56 on February 17th, 2020.
19) The United States killed Qasim al-Raymi, the
leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP) in an operation in Yemen on January
29th, 2020. On 6th February 2020, the White
House confirmed the death.
20) Al-Qaeda leader is --- Ayman al-Zawahiri.
21) Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC)
Fehmida Mirza represented Pakistan in the
executive committee meeting of the
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
(CPA) in Ottawa, Canada on April 13, 2019.
22) Pakistan declared sugarcane juice as the national
juice of Pakistan on Jan 25th, 2019.
23) Pakistan counted its transgender population for
the first time in the 2017 census. It has estimated
their number to be over 10,000.
24) Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin
Salman called for the creation of a health center
in Pakistan’s KPK province Swat in the memory
of a Pakistani, Farman Ali Khan, who saved 14
lives in Jeddah’s 2009 floods.
25) Abdelaziz Bouteflika was the President of Algeria
who resigned on April 2, 2019. The current
president was Abdelmadjid Tebboune. He won in
2019 presidential election on 12 December 2019
and assumed the office on 19 December 2019.
26) Tesla developed its 'largest power storage system
in Asia' at Osaka station in Japan.
27) Japan's new imperial era is named Reiwa,
began on 1st May, 2019, a day after Emperor
Page 1
WhatsApp at 923030308056. Thank you!
 CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK POINTERS
Akihito officially abdicated on 30 April 2019,
after 30 years as Japan's symbolic leader,
bringing the Heisei era to an end and handed
over to Crown Prince Naruhito.
28) Crown Prince Naruhito became the 126th
emperor of Japan since May 1st, 2019. He and
Empress Masako made the first public
appearance at the Imperial Palace on May 4th.
29) Kalashnikov Rifle is linked with Russia.
30) Macky Sall became Senegalese President for the
second time on 24th February 2019. Dakar is the
capital of Senegal, in West Africa.
31) Behrous Boochani, who won the Australia’s
richest literary prize, belongs to Iran.
32) The Orinoco oil belt is situated in Venezuela.
33) Three EU countries (E3: Germany, France and
the UK) set up a payment channel with Iran
called INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade
Exchanges) in order to continue trade and
circumvent US sanctions.
34) John Dingell, the longest-serving congressman in
US history, died aged 92 on February 7th, 2019.
He was first elected in 1955, serving in the House
of Representatives for the next 59 years.
35) Beresheet spacecraft is from Israel.
36) Prime Minister Imran Khan participated in
Leader's Roundtable Session of the 2nd Belt &
Road Forum (BRF) at International Convention
Center, Yanqi Lake Beijing, China on April 27,
2019. Pakistan hosted BRI's flagship component.
37) The first BRI Forum was held in 2017 in China.
38) The 37 heads of state and govt participated in the
2nd BRF 2019. As many as 122 states and 49 int’l
organisations are part of the Chinese-led BRI.
39) The UN celebrated 2019 as the International Year
of the Periodic Table to celebrate 150 years since
its first publication in 1869.
40) Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova,
from Progressive Slovakia party, became the
first female head of state (president) of Slovakia
on March 30, 2019. Bratislava is the capital of
Slovakia and its currency is Euro.
41) The Seventh Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional Ministerial
Meeting held on 2nd March 2019 in Siem Reap,
Cambodia. The meeting was chaired by the acting
commerce minister Chutima Bunyapraphasara
of Thailand. RCEP was launched in November
2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as an initiative
by ASEAN to encourage trade among its member
states and six other countries. The deal involves
all 10 countries from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc and five of its major
trading partners: Australia, China, Japan, New
Zealand and South Korea.
42) 'Kami' are the holy places of Shinto.
43) The Blue Mountains are in Australia.
44) Red Square is in Moscow, Russia.
45) Grand Places are in Brussels, Belgium.
46) Tiananmen Square is in Beijing, China.
47) Times Square is in New York, America.
48) Piazza Navona is in Rome, Italy.
49) Piazza San Marco is in Venice, Austria.
50) Trafalgar Square is in London, United Kingdom.
Prepared and Compiled by Aamir Mahar
51) Old Town Square is located in Prague, the capital
of the Czech Republic.
52) The game of golf originated in Scotland.
53) Abby Maxman is President, Oxfam America.
54) The United States President Trump's national
security adviser is -- Robert O'Brien.
55) The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulates the int’l
trade in conventional weapons. It entered into
force on December 24, 2014. The United Nations
adopted the ATT on April 3, 2013.
56) Italy's Prime Minister Giuiseppe Conte set up
the new 'Africa Centre for Climate and
Sustainable Development' on Jan 28th, 2019.
57) Pakistan PM Imran Khan addressed the United
Nations General Assembly at its headquarters in
New York City, US on September 27th, 2019.
58) The UAE launched the programme 'lose to win'
to help overweight employers in March 2019.
59) The world’s largest e-waste recycling hub is
opened in Dubai on an area of 280000 sq ft.
60) South Korea won Sultan Azlan Shah Cup held
in Ipoh, Malaysia on 23-30 March, 2019.
61) Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual int’l men's
field hockey tournament held in Malaysia.
62) Norman Gimbel, the Oscar & Grammy awards-
winning US-lyricist died on December 17, 2018.
63) The Google's first Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Research Center is based in Accra, Ghana.
64) South Korea launched the world’s first
nationwide 5G mobile networks on April 3, 2019.
Three top telecom providers SK Telecom, KT,
and LG Uplus launched the 5G services.
65) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah (Kuwait)
re-elected as the new President of Olympic
Council of Asia (OCA) for the term 2019-2023.
66) China launched a new-generation data relay
satellite, Tianlian II-01 on April 1st, 2019.
67) TVS Motor Company awarded 'Green Era Award
for Sustainability' at Lisbon, Portugal.
68) Chinese current Prime Minister is Li Keqiang.
69) The Mount Olympus is located in Greece.
70) Pakistan Railways started 'Clean, Green &
Behave Good campaign' on February 1, 2019.
71) Hassan Diab is serving as the Prime Minister
of Lebanon since 21 January 2020. His cabinet
was mainly supported upon its appointment by
the two political Shiite parties, Hezbollah and
Amal Movement.
72) The protests led to the ousting of Sunni Muslim
Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Al-Hariri on
October 29th, 2019. Hariri has also been the
leader of the Future Movement party since 2005
and was designated PM on 3rd November 2016.
73) The US and Israel officially quit the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) on January 1st, 2019.
74) Israel joined the UNESCO in the year 1949.
75) The present Iran's President: Hassan Rouhani
76) Iran's Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
77) MCI - Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad.
78) Mazar-i-Sharif is the town of Afghanistan.
79) Three ministers include Muhammad Atif Khan,
who was the minister for sports, culture and
tourism, Shahram Khan Tarakai, who was the
Page 2
 CURRENT AFFAIRS & GK POINTERS
minister for health and Shakeel Ahmed, who held
the portfolio of revenue and estate, were sacked
from KP cabinet on 26th January, 2020.
80) Nasir Saleem, a 30-year veteran of New York
police, became the first Pakistani American,
and the first person from the Muslim faith, to be
appointed as Auxiliary Deputy Chief of the nearly
5,000-strong force on 30th January, 2020.
81) Members of the first-ever Pakistani Female
Engagement Team (FET), which is deployed with
the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation
Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(MONUSCO), were on February 1st, 2020
awarded the United Nations Medal at a ceremony
in Adikivu in South Kivu, one of the provinces of
the central African country, Congo.
82) Bukavu is in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. It is situated on the border with Rwanda.
It is the capital of South Kivu.
83) Pakistan declared the national emergency after
its worst locust plague in 27 years on 31st
January, 2020.
84) Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived at
Al-Ghudaibya Palace in Manama, Bahrain on
December 16th, 2020 on the invitation of King
Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to attend the country's
National Day celebrations as the guest of honour.
This will be Imran's first visit to Bahrain since
assuming office in August 2018. Khan was
conferred the country's highest civil award at
Al-Sakhir Palace in Bahrain.
85) Pakistan, in its commitment to implement the
National Electric Vehicle Policy (NEVP),
launched the first-ever electric car company,
Topsun Motors, in partnership with China on Jail
Road Lahore on 3rd January 2020.
86) Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 is the first
one in five seasons to be played entirely in the
country. The matches will be played in four cities
of the country — nine in Karachi, eight in
Rawalpindi, three in Multan while 14 matches
will be played in Lahore. PSL 2020 will kick off
on February 20th at the National Stadium,
Karachi and will continue till March 22nd, 2020.
The last match at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
87) The official anthem of the 5th PSL-2020 titled
‘Tayyar Hain’ was released on January 28, 2020.
A total of 22 instruments have been used.
88) Islamabad United made history in PSL 2016
when they beat Quetta Gladiators. United’s
opener Sharjeel Khan scored the first-ever
century in the PSL history. In PSL 2017, Zalmi
outclassed Gladiators in one-sided final match.
United won their second title by overcoming
Zalmi by three wickets in PSL 2018. The
Gladiators won in PSL 2019 by overcoming Zalmi
by eight wickets on 17th March, 2019.
89) Slobodan Praljak, 72, a Bosnian Croat war
criminal died on 29th November 2017 after
drinking poison during an appeal hearing in The
Hague, the Netherlands.
90) Pakistan's 11th General Elections on Jul 25, 2018.
91) Normandy region is the northern part of France.
92) Mt. Adams is the peak in Washington, USA.
Prepared and Compiled by Aamir Mahar
93) Top Chinese General Zhang Yang in graft probe
committed suicide on November 23rd, 2017
(aged 66) in Beijing, China.
94) President Donald Trump on December 6th, 2017
reversed decades of U.S. policy and recognized
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
95) The UN votes 128-9 rejected the US decision on
Jerusalem on December 21, 2017. Votes: 128 in
favour; 9 against; 35 abstentions.
96) The 2017 United Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP23) was held at UN Campus in
Bonn (Germany) from 6–17 November 2017.
97) An American Emily Fridlund is the author of
'History of Wolves'. This was her first novel that
was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize.
98) India ended subsidies to poor Muslims in India
to go on the Hajj pilgrimage on 16th January
2018. The policy was enacted by the British in the
Port Haj Committees Act in 1932.
99) Former Iranian Vice President Hamid Baghaei
sentenced to 63 years in prison on 20th
December 2017 after being convicted on
corruption charges.
100)Ann Elizabeth Dunwoody is the first woman in
U.S. military and uniformed service history to
achieve a four-star officer rank, receiving her
fourth star on November 14th, 2008.
101) The 2017 Riyadh Summit was held on 20–21 May
2017 attended by the United States President
Trump to Saudi Arabia, his first trip overseas.
Signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia,
and was honored with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al
Saud, his first foreign order.
102) Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 45th
President of the U.S. on January 20th, 2017.
103) Saudi Arabia on December 15, 2015 announced
the formation of a 34-state Islamic military
coalition to combat terrorism. Headquartered in:
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and official languages are:
Arabic, English, French. Present members- 41.
104) A delegation of Raheel Sharif-led IMCTC arrived
in Pakistan on February 10th, 2019 during it’s
first-ever visit to the country.
105) Pakistan successfully conducted a flight test of
air-launched cruise missile Ra’ad-II on 18th
February, 2020. The cruise missile, which has a
range of 600 kilometers, is equipped with
state-of-the-art guidance.
106) On January 23rd, 2020 the Pakistan Army also
test-fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile
'Ghaznavi'. The missile is capable of delivering
multiple warheads up to a range of 290 KMs.
107) Saudi capital Riyadh hosted the inaugural
meeting of the 41-nation IMCTC Ministers of
Defense Council on November 26, 2017 under the
theme of ‘Allied Against Terrorism’.
108) Pakistan launched on November 18th, 2019
surface-to-surface ballistic missile (SSBM)
Shaheen-1 capable of delivering all types of
warheads upto range of 650 KMs.
109) On April 15th, 2019, the US authorities officially
designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC), including its Quds Force, as a
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Page 3