UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Turkiye’s Parliament passes Bill aimed at peace with Kurdish rebels

Q1. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was formally founded in which year, and with what stated original objective?

  • A. 1974 — as a legal Kurdish political party intending to contest Turkish parliamentary elections
  • B. 1984 — as an armed wing constituted after the first attack on a village in southeastern Turkey
  • C. 1978 — as a Marxist organisation dedicated to the creation of an independent Kurdistan
  • D. 1999 — as a successor formation created after the capture of its founder abroad

Q2. In the early 1980s, PKK militants were able to move into and operate from camps in northern Iraq largely because of favourable relations with which organisation?

  • A. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the rival Iraqi Kurdish party based around Sulaymaniyah
  • B. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq, the Iraqi Kurdish party then dominant in the north
  • C. The Democratic Union Party of Syria, the dominant Kurdish party in the northeast of that country
  • D. The Kurdistan Free Life Party, the Kurdish militant organisation operating against Iran

Q3. Consider the following statements comparing the post-First World War treaties as they affected the Kurds: 1. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) provided for an autonomous Kurdistan alongside an independent Armenia, but was never ratified. 2. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) confirmed the provision for the Arab states while dropping Allied demands for autonomy in Turkish Kurdistan. 3. Unlike Sèvres, Lausanne settled the Mosul question by permanently assigning that territory to Turkey. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) provided for an autonomous Kurdistan alongside an independent Armenia, but was never ratified.
  2. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) confirmed the provision for the Arab states while dropping Allied demands for autonomy in Turkish Kurdistan.
  3. Unlike Sèvres, Lausanne settled the Mosul question by permanently assigning that territory to Turkey.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. In its standard usage in international affairs, the term 'Kurdistan' most precisely denotes which one of the following?

  • A. The federally recognised autonomous region of northern Iraq administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government
  • B. The Kurdish-majority provinces of southeastern Anatolia recognised as a distinct territorial unit under Turkey's constitution
  • C. The Kurdish-administered self-governing zone of northeastern Syria consolidated in the years after 2012
  • D. The contiguous culture-geographic region of Kurdish settlement extending across parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Armenia

Q5. The symbolic weapons-handover ceremony of July 2025, marking the operational start of PKK disarmament, was hosted at which location?

  • A. Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan
  • B. Diyarbakır, in southeastern Türkiye
  • C. Qamishli, in northeastern Syria
  • D. Sulaymaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan

Q6. The PKK's formal decision in May 2025 to disarm and dissolve itself was taken through which of the following?

  • A. A congress of the organisation itself, which resolved to disarm and disband
  • B. A trilateral accord signed with Türkiye and Iraq at the Sulaymaniyah ceremony
  • C. A resolution adopted by the general assembly of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party at Ankara
  • D. A commission constituted for the purpose by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye

Q7. After clearing committee stage in August 2026, final passage of Türkiye's 'Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration' Bill rested with which body?

  • A. The general assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, the 600-member legislature at Ankara
  • B. The Constitutional Court of Türkiye, exercising its power of prior review over draft legislation
  • C. The National Security Council of Türkiye, the body chaired by the President on security policy
  • D. The Council of Judges and Prosecutors, the apex body governing the Turkish judicial service

Q8. The conditional, pardon-like reintegration mechanism created by Türkiye's 2026 Bill was estimated to benefit approximately how many former PKK members?

  • A. About 400
  • B. About 4,000
  • C. About 14,000
  • D. All former members without exception, estimated at over 40,000

Q9. With reference to the United Nations' framework for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), consider the following: 1. The Integrated DDR Standards (IDDRS) were originally developed in 2006 by the UN departments, agencies, funds and programmes then comprising the Inter-Agency Working Group on DDR. 2. The UN Inter-Agency Working Group on DDR was established in March 2010. 3. The UN supported its first DDR process in Central America in 1990. 4. A revised set of Integrated DDR Standards was launched by the Secretary-General in 2019. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The Integrated DDR Standards (IDDRS) were originally developed in 2006 by the UN departments, agencies, funds and programmes then comprising the Inter-Agency Working Group on DDR.
  2. The UN Inter-Agency Working Group on DDR was established in March 2010.
  3. The UN supported its first DDR process in Central America in 1990.
  4. A revised set of Integrated DDR Standards was launched by the Secretary-General in 2019.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q10. Within the United Nations system, DDR work in peace operations is led by which entity?

  • A. The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, working under the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs
  • B. The Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, within the Department of Peace Operations
  • C. The Peacebuilding Support Office, which administers the Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund
  • D. The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, acting through its Mediation Support Unit

Q11. Consider the following statements about Türkiye: 1. It joined NATO in 1952, in the same round of enlargement as Greece. 2. Under the Montreux Convention of 1936 it regained the right to fortify the Straits and may close them to all warships in time of war, while merchant ships retain free passage. 3. The constitutional amendments approved in 2017 and implemented in 2018 reduced the Grand National Assembly from 600 to 550 seats while retaining the office of Prime Minister. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It joined NATO in 1952, in the same round of enlargement as Greece.
  2. Under the Montreux Convention of 1936 it regained the right to fortify the Straits and may close them to all warships in time of war, while merchant ships retain free passage.
  3. The constitutional amendments approved in 2017 and implemented in 2018 reduced the Grand National Assembly from 600 to 550 seats while retaining the office of Prime Minister.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. In the Northern Ireland peace process, the term 'decommissioning' referred to which one of the following?

  • A. The verified putting of paramilitary arms beyond use under independent international inspection
  • B. The compulsory surrender of every paramilitary weapon to the British Army within 180 days of the accord
  • C. The permanent dissolution of all paramilitary organisations as an absolute precondition for power-sharing
  • D. The early release of the entire body of paramilitary prisoners in return for renouncing violence