UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Pakistan’s westward turn — strategic depth or overstretch
Q1. With reference to the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025, consider the following:
1. It was signed in Riyadh, with Pakistan's Prime Minister and the Saudi Crown Prince as the principals and Pakistan's army chief present.
2. Pakistan's Defence Minister has confirmed that nuclear weapons form an explicit, written component of the agreement.
3. Its central clause provides that aggression against either state shall be treated as aggression against both.
4. Its declared scope covers joint training, intelligence sharing and joint exercises.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It was signed in Riyadh, with Pakistan's Prime Minister and the Saudi Crown Prince as the principals and Pakistan's army chief present.
- Pakistan's Defence Minister has confirmed that nuclear weapons form an explicit, written component of the agreement.
- Its central clause provides that aggression against either state shall be treated as aggression against both.
- Its declared scope covers joint training, intelligence sharing and joint exercises.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q2. Consider the following statements comparing the September 2025 Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with the earlier phase of Pakistan-Saudi security cooperation:
1. Security ties were institutionalised in 1982 through a Bilateral Security Cooperation Agreement providing for Pakistani training, advisory support and deployments on Saudi soil.
2. Unlike that earlier arrangement, the 2025 agreement carries an explicit collective-security clause equating aggression against one state with aggression against both.
3. Pakistani military personnel were stationed in Saudi Arabia for the first time only as a consequence of the 2025 agreement, the earlier cooperation having been confined to arms sales.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Security ties were institutionalised in 1982 through a Bilateral Security Cooperation Agreement providing for Pakistani training, advisory support and deployments on Saudi soil.
- Unlike that earlier arrangement, the 2025 agreement carries an explicit collective-security clause equating aggression against one state with aggression against both.
- Pakistani military personnel were stationed in Saudi Arabia for the first time only as a consequence of the 2025 agreement, the earlier cooperation having been confined to arms sales.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. Consider the following statements about Pakistan's 'strategic depth' doctrine and its present recalibration:
1. The doctrine consolidated under General Zia-ul-Haq, in the period when Pakistan joined the United States and Saudi Arabia in backing the mujahideen against the Soviet-backed government in Kabul.
2. Under Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan has discarded the operational distinction between 'good' and 'bad' Taliban that the doctrine had sustained.
3. The doctrine originated only after the Soviet withdrawal of 1989, Pakistan having had no military engagement in Afghanistan before that date.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The doctrine consolidated under General Zia-ul-Haq, in the period when Pakistan joined the United States and Saudi Arabia in backing the mujahideen against the Soviet-backed government in Kabul.
- Under Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan has discarded the operational distinction between 'good' and 'bad' Taliban that the doctrine had sustained.
- The doctrine originated only after the Soviet withdrawal of 1989, Pakistan having had no military engagement in Afghanistan before that date.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q4. Which of the following are correctly identified as constituent elements of the 'strategic depth' framework as historically pursued by Pakistan's military establishment in Afghanistan?
1. Treating Afghanistan as a rear buffer offering territorial fallback in a conflict with India.
2. Cultivating allied Islamist and militant proxies inside Afghanistan.
3. Securing Kabul's treaty acceptance of the Durand Line as a settled international boundary.
4. Concluding a formal mutual-defence treaty with Kabul obliging Pakistan to intervene against any external attacker of Afghanistan.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Treating Afghanistan as a rear buffer offering territorial fallback in a conflict with India.
- Cultivating allied Islamist and militant proxies inside Afghanistan.
- Securing Kabul's treaty acceptance of the Durand Line as a settled international boundary.
- Concluding a formal mutual-defence treaty with Kabul obliging Pakistan to intervene against any external attacker of Afghanistan.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 2 and 4
Q5. In the context of Pakistan-Afghanistan border militancy, the 'Durand Line' refers to which one of the following?
- A. The boundary demarcating Afghanistan from Pakistan, whose contested character makes the frontier difficult to control
- B. The ceasefire line fixed between Afghan and Pakistani forces after the October 2025 clashes, monitored by Qatar
- C. The administrative line separating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas
- D. The alignment along which Pakistan's frontier fence with Iran runs through western Balochistan
Q6. With reference to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the October 2025 Afghanistan-Pakistan escalation, consider the following:
1. The TTP was created in late 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud as an umbrella bringing tribal-area militant groups under a single command.
2. The escalation followed a Pakistani air strike in Kabul that targeted the TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud.
3. The Torkham crossing was deliberately kept open throughout the episode so that bilateral trade was insulated from the fighting.
4. Appeals from regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, preceded the pause in the fighting.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The TTP was created in late 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud as an umbrella bringing tribal-area militant groups under a single command.
- The escalation followed a Pakistani air strike in Kabul that targeted the TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud.
- The Torkham crossing was deliberately kept open throughout the episode so that bilateral trade was insulated from the fighting.
- Appeals from regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, preceded the pause in the fighting.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 3 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q7. Consider the following statements about the elevation of Asim Munir and the constitutional changes accompanying it:
1. The rank of Field Marshal was newly created by the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Munir being the first Pakistani officer promoted to it.
2. Munir was elevated to Field Marshal in May 2025, becoming only the second Pakistani officer to hold the rank after Mohammad Ayub Khan.
3. The amendment that created the post of Chief of Defence Forces simultaneously abolished the office of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The rank of Field Marshal was newly created by the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Munir being the first Pakistani officer promoted to it.
- Munir was elevated to Field Marshal in May 2025, becoming only the second Pakistani officer to hold the rank after Mohammad Ayub Khan.
- The amendment that created the post of Chief of Defence Forces simultaneously abolished the office of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. Consider the following as changes effected by or under Pakistan's 27th Constitutional Amendment:
1. Creation of the post of Chief of Defence Forces with authority over all branches of the armed forces.
2. Abolition of the office of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
3. Retention by the incumbent of the privileges of the rank of Field Marshal for an indefinite period.
4. Transfer of the power to appoint the services chiefs from the President to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Creation of the post of Chief of Defence Forces with authority over all branches of the armed forces.
- Abolition of the office of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
- Retention by the incumbent of the privileges of the rank of Field Marshal for an indefinite period.
- Transfer of the power to appoint the services chiefs from the President to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only
Q9. The India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council is best described as which one of the following?
- A. A leaders-level bilateral mechanism established in 2019 that works through four subject committees
- B. A binding collective-security arrangement obliging either state to come to the other's military defence in all circumstances
- C. A standing organ of the Gulf Cooperation Council through which all its members conduct their entire dialogue with India
- D. An OIC-sponsored forum that exclusively regulates crude oil pricing and migrant labour quotas between the two countries
Q10. The India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, which steers the political-security, defence, economic and cultural tracks of the relationship, is co-chaired on the Indian side by which one of the following?
- A. The Prime Minister of India
- B. The Minister of External Affairs
- C. The National Security Adviser to the Government of India
- D. The Minister of Commerce and Industry
Q11. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, headquartered in Jeddah, currently comprises how many member states?
Q12. Consider the following statements about Pakistan's macroeconomic position under its ongoing IMF programme:
1. The current programme is a 37-month Extended Fund Facility arrangement approved in September 2024, subsequently supplemented by an arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
2. Pakistan recorded a primary surplus of 1.3 per cent of GDP in FY25, and a primary surplus of 1.6 per cent of GDP was expected for FY26.
3. Gross reserves have risen without interruption under the programme and the IMF has certified that Pakistan's external position is now permanently secure and needs no further financing.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The current programme is a 37-month Extended Fund Facility arrangement approved in September 2024, subsequently supplemented by an arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
- Pakistan recorded a primary surplus of 1.3 per cent of GDP in FY25, and a primary surplus of 1.6 per cent of GDP was expected for FY26.
- Gross reserves have risen without interruption under the programme and the IMF has certified that Pakistan's external position is now permanently secure and needs no further financing.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3