SPSC Test Pakistan Affairs and Current Affairs Syllabus

What did the 18th Amendment (2010) achieve?

It restored the parliamentary character of the 1973 Constitution, removed Article 58(2)(b), abolished the Concurrent List devolving powers to provinces, and renamed NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

What did the 13th Amendment (1997) do regarding presidential power?

It repealed Article 58(2)(b), stripping the President of the power to unilaterally dissolve the National Assembly.

What did the 7th Amendment provide and what did the 2nd Amendment (1974) declare?

The 2nd Amendment (1974) declared the Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority; (the 7th Amendment 1977 provided for a referendum on the Prime Minister).

Define federalism as practiced under the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.

A division of powers between the federal government and the provinces, with legislative subjects originally split into the Federal Legislative List and (until the 18th Amendment) a Concurrent List; residual powers rest with provinces.

How did the 18th Amendment strengthen provincial autonomy?

By abolishing the Concurrent Legislative List, transferring numerous subjects (e.g., education, health, environment) to the provinces, and strengthening provincial control over natural resources.

What body distributes financial resources between the federation and the provinces in Pakistan?

The National Finance Commission (NFC), which makes Awards distributing revenue (the divisible pool) between the federal government and the provinces, mainly on the basis of population and other factors.

Name the three branches of the federal government of Pakistan.

The Legislature (Parliament: National Assembly and Senate), the Executive (President, Prime Minister, and Cabinet), and the Judiciary (Supreme Court, High Courts, and subordinate courts).

What are the two houses of Pakistan's Parliament and which represents the provinces equally?

The National Assembly (lower house, population-based) and the Senate (upper house), with the Senate giving equal representation to all provinces.

Who is the head of state and who is the head of government in Pakistan under the 1973 Constitution?

The President is the head of state; the Prime Minister is the head of government and chief executive.

What does the term 'civil-military relations' refer to in Pakistan's context?

The balance of power and interaction between elected civilian governments and the military establishment, a recurring issue marked by periods of direct military rule.

Name the four periods of direct military rule in Pakistan and their leaders.

Ayub Khan (1958-69), Yahya Khan (1969-71), Zia-ul-Haq (1977-88), and Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008).

What is the structure of local government in Sindh under the Sindh Local Government Act 2013?

A three-tier system: rural areas have District Councils, Taluka/Town Municipal Committees, and Union Councils; major urban areas have Metropolitan/Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees, and Union Committees.

What is the apex urban local body for Karachi under the Sindh local government system?

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), headed by an elected Mayor, sitting above District Municipal Corporations (DMCs).

Name Pakistan's two most important food/cash crops and the country's largest industry.

Major crops include wheat (main food crop) and cotton (main cash crop); the textile industry is Pakistan's largest manufacturing industry and export earner.

What share of Pakistan's labor force and GDP does agriculture roughly account for?

Agriculture employs roughly 37-40% of the labor force and contributes around 19-23% of GDP.

What is the name of the canal-based irrigation network that supports Pakistan's agriculture?

The Indus Basin Irrigation System, the world's largest contiguous irrigation network, fed by the Indus River and its tributaries.

What treaty governs the sharing of river waters between Pakistan and India, and who brokered it?

The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, brokered by the World Bank; it gives Pakistan the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) and India the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej).

What is Pakistan's largest dam by reservoir/storage and on which river is it located?

Tarbela Dam, on the Indus River; Mangla Dam on the Jhelum River is the other major reservoir.

What is 'circular debt' in Pakistan's energy sector?

The cascading unpaid liabilities across the power supply chain (generation, transmission, distribution) caused by the gap between the cost of supplying electricity and the revenue recovered, leading to liquidity shortfalls.

What are the main sources of Pakistan's electricity generation?

Thermal (oil, natural gas, coal), hydropower, nuclear, and a growing share of renewables (solar, wind); thermal generation dominates the mix.

What is the international measure of extreme poverty and how is poverty broadly assessed in Pakistan?

The World Bank's international extreme-poverty line; Pakistan also uses a national poverty line based on a Cost of Basic Needs and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) covering health, education, and living standards.

Name two major flagship social safety-net programs in Pakistan addressing poverty.

The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and the Ehsaas Programme (cash transfers and welfare initiatives).

Which country is Pakistan's principal regional rival and what is the core territorial dispute between them?

India; the core dispute is over the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which has caused multiple wars.

List the major wars fought between India and Pakistan.

1948 (First Kashmir War), 1965, 1971 (which led to the creation of Bangladesh), and the 1999 Kargil conflict.

How would you characterize Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan and one key issue?

A close but troubled relationship; a key issue is the Durand Line border and the management of Afghan refugees and cross-border militancy.

What is the Durand Line?

The 1893 boundary line between Pakistan and Afghanistan, agreed between Sir Mortimer Durand and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan; Afghanistan has not formally recognized it as an international border.

How is Pakistan's relationship with China commonly described, and what is its economic centerpiece?

An 'all-weather strategic cooperative partnership' ('iron brothers'); its economic centerpiece is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

What is CPEC and which broader Chinese initiative is it part of?

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a network of infrastructure, energy, and connectivity projects linking Kashgar in China to Gwadar port in Pakistan; it is the flagship of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

What is the strategic significance of Gwadar Port in CPEC?

Gwadar is a deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea near the Strait of Hormuz, serving as the southern terminus of CPEC and giving China shorter access to Middle Eastern and African trade routes.

How have Pakistan-United States relations historically been characterized?

As a transactional, cyclical relationship of alliance and estrangement, close during the Cold War (CENTO/SEATO), the Soviet-Afghan war, and the post-9/11 War on Terror, but strained over nuclear and security issues.

When did Pakistan become a declared nuclear power and what triggered its tests?

In May 1998, Pakistan conducted nuclear tests (Chagai) in response to India's nuclear tests earlier that month, making it the seventh declared nuclear-weapon state.