UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — A new triple alliance in West Asia

Q1. With reference to the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement concluded in August 2026, consider the following countries and the descriptions attached to them: 1. Turkiye — a transcontinental state and a member of the G20 2. Pakistan — the only Muslim-majority state possessing nuclear weapons 3. Qatar — a Gulf State whose territory came under Iranian missile attack during the 2026 regional conflict 4. Saudi Arabia — the world's largest exporter of crude oil Which of the above is/are correctly identified as parties to that Agreement?

  1. Turkiye — a transcontinental state and a member of the G20
  2. Pakistan — the only Muslim-majority state possessing nuclear weapons
  3. Qatar — a Gulf State whose territory came under Iranian missile attack during the 2026 regional conflict
  4. Saudi Arabia — the world's largest exporter of crude oil
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q2. Among the member states of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which one is characterised as fielding the second-largest military within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

  • A. Saudi Arabia, which combines the largest defence budget in the Arab world with control of the Gulf's principal oil terminals
  • B. Pakistan, which maintains the largest standing army among Muslim-majority states and a full nuclear triad ambition
  • C. Turkiye, whose armed forces are exceeded in size only by those of the United States within that alliance
  • D. Egypt, whose armed forces are the largest in Africa and which anchors the alliance's southern Mediterranean flank

Q3. The Government of India's official position that it would study the implications of the September 2025 Saudi Arabia–Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement for India's national security and for regional and global stability was articulated through which one of the following?

  • A. The National Security Council Secretariat functioning under the Cabinet Secretariat
  • B. The Department of Military Affairs functioning under the Ministry of Defence
  • C. The Internal Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. The Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs

Q4. Consider the following pairings drawn from the sequence of events that culminated in the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement: 1. September 2025 — conclusion of the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan 2. January 2026 — reports of Turkiye seeking to join the existing Saudi–Pakistan defence arrangement 3. February 2026 — outbreak of the wider regional conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran 4. March 2026 — adoption of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran's attacks on its neighbours, penned by Qatar Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. September 2025 — conclusion of the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
  2. January 2026 — reports of Turkiye seeking to join the existing Saudi–Pakistan defence arrangement
  3. February 2026 — outbreak of the wider regional conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran
  4. March 2026 — adoption of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran's attacks on its neighbours, penned by Qatar
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q5. The provision of the Charter of the United Nations that preserves the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member is placed in which numbered Chapter of the Charter?

  • A. Chapter VI, dealing with the pacific settlement of disputes
  • B. Chapter VII, dealing with threats to the peace and acts of aggression
  • C. Chapter VIII, dealing with regional arrangements and agencies
  • D. Chapter IX, dealing with international economic and social co-operation

Q6. Consider the following statements comparing the collective-defence clause of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with the self-defence provision of the Charter of the United Nations: 1. The Charter provision preserves the right of individual or collective self-defence only until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. 2. Measures taken by Members in exercise of that right must be immediately reported to the Security Council, and do not affect the Council's own authority to act as it deems necessary. 3. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was declared to be directed specifically against Iran and closed to any further accession. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Charter provision preserves the right of individual or collective self-defence only until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.
  2. Measures taken by Members in exercise of that right must be immediately reported to the Security Council, and do not affect the Council's own authority to act as it deems necessary.
  3. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was declared to be directed specifically against Iran and closed to any further accession.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. The 2026 resolution condemning Iran's attacks on its Gulf and Arab neighbours, which demanded the immediate cessation of strikes on residential areas and civilian objects, was adopted by which one of the following?

  • A. The United Nations General Assembly, all of whose resolutions on international peace and security are binding upon every Member State without exception
  • B. The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the exclusive body empowered to condemn any use of force in the region
  • C. The United Nations Security Council, acting by 13 votes in favour with two abstentions
  • D. The United Nations Human Rights Council, whose entire membership must necessarily endorse any country-specific condemnation

Q8. The India–Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation held in New Delhi was which numbered meeting of that Committee?

  • A. The third
  • B. The fifth
  • C. The seventh
  • D. The eleventh

Q9. At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the first capital of the Saudi dynasty, was destroyed in which year?

  • A. 1745
  • B. 1802
  • C. 1818
  • D. 1932

Q10. According to World Bank data for 2024, which one of the following recorded the largest gross domestic product measured in current US dollars?

  • A. Turkiye
  • B. Saudi Arabia
  • C. Pakistan
  • D. Iran