Comprehension

I rise to apprise this august House of the foreign policy dimension of our response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, going into the preparations for Operation Sindoor and how foreign policy was handled during Operation Sindoor. As all the honourable members would appreciate, it was important to send a clear, strong and resolute message after the Pahalgam attack. Our red lines had been crossed and we had to make it very apparent that there would be serious consequences. As a result, the first step which was taken was that a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Security took place on the 23rd of April, and that meeting decided that:

  • One, the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
  • Two, the integrated checkpost Attari would be closed with immediate effect.
  • Three, Pakistani nationals who were traveling under SAARC visa exemption scheme would no longer be allowed to do that.
  • Four, the Defence, Naval and Air Advisors of the Pakistani High Commission would be declared persona non-grata and,
  • Five, the overall strength of the High Commission would be brought down to 30 from the number of 55. (207 words)

(Excerpts from Statement made by Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar on special discussion in Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor dated 28th Jul 2025)

Question: 1

Where is Pahalgam situated in India?

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Use well-known geographical facts when the passage does not explicitly provide the location.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • Punjab
  • Himachal Pradesh
  • Jammu & Kashmir
  • Uttarakhand
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The Correct Option is C

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the state or union territory where Pahalgam is located.

Step 2: Key Fact:
Pahalgam is a hill town in the Anantnag district, which lies in Jammu and Kashmir.

Step 3: Checking the Other States:
Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand each have their own hill towns and tourist spots, but none of them contain a place called Pahalgam.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Pahalgam is located in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Approach Solution -2

Matching each state to what it is actually known for helps place Pahalgam correctly.

  1. Punjab: known for its plains and agriculture, not for Himalayan hill towns like Pahalgam.
  2. Himachal Pradesh: known for hill stations such as Shimla and Manali, a different set of destinations from Pahalgam.
  3. Jammu & Kashmir: known for hill towns including Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg, with Pahalgam specifically sitting in its Anantnag district.
  4. Uttarakhand: known for hill towns such as Nainital and Mussoorie, again a separate region from Pahalgam.

Only Jammu and Kashmir's list of hill destinations includes Pahalgam.

The correct answer is Jammu & Kashmir.

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Question: 2

The checkpost Attari is located in:

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Border checkposts between India and Pakistan are mainly located in Punjab, not the Himalayan regions.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • Near Amritsar, Punjab
  • Near Baramulla in Jammu & Kashmir
  • Near Kutch in Gujarat
  • Near Barmer in Rajasthan
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The Correct Option is A

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the location of the Attari checkpost.

Step 2: Key Fact:
Attari is the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border crossing, situated on the Grand Trunk Road close to Amritsar in Punjab.

Step 3: Checking the Other Options:
Baramulla belongs to Jammu and Kashmir, and Kutch and Barmer are separate border districts in Gujarat and Rajasthan, none of which house this particular checkpost.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The Attari checkpost lies near Amritsar, Punjab.
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Approach Solution -2

Identifying which international border sector each option sits on settles this quickly.

  1. Near Amritsar, Punjab: sits on the India-Pakistan border along the Grand Trunk Road, exactly where the Attari-Wagah crossing is located.
  2. Near Baramulla in Jammu & Kashmir: sits near the Line of Control in Kashmir, a different sector of the India-Pakistan frontier entirely.
  3. Near Kutch in Gujarat: sits on the marshy Rann of Kutch sector of the border, far south of Punjab.
  4. Near Barmer in Rajasthan: sits on the desert sector of the border in Rajasthan, again a different stretch altogether.

Since Attari specifically names the Grand Trunk Road crossing point, only the Amritsar option matches the right sector of the border.

The correct answer is Near Amritsar, Punjab.

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Question: 3

Which among the following is {not a SAARC nation?}

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Memorize SAARC's 8 members—Mauritius often appears as a distractor in such questions.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • Afghanistan
  • Maldives
  • Mauritius
  • Bangladesh
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The Correct Option is C

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks which of the four countries listed is not a member of SAARC.

Step 2: Key Fact:
SAARC has eight members: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan.

Step 3: Checking the Options:
Afghanistan, Maldives and Bangladesh all appear on this list of eight, but Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation, does not belong to South Asia and is not part of the grouping.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Mauritius is not a SAARC nation.
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Approach Solution -2

Checking which region each country belongs to is a quick way to spot the odd one out.

  1. Afghanistan: located in South Asia, and formally part of the SAARC region since joining in 2007.
  2. Maldives: a South Asian island nation, part of SAARC since the grouping's founding in 1985.
  3. Mauritius: located far to the south in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa, and classified as part of the African Union region rather than South Asia.
  4. Bangladesh: a South Asian country and a founding member of SAARC.

Three of the four countries sit within South Asia and belong to SAARC; only Mauritius falls outside the region entirely.

The correct answer is Mauritius.

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Question: 4

The expression “Persona Non Grata” means:

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Latin diplomatic terms frequently appear in foreign-policy reasoning questions—memorize the standard meanings.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • An ungrateful person
  • An unwelcome person
  • An untrustworthy person
  • A displaced person
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The Correct Option is B

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the meaning of the diplomatic term "persona non grata."

Step 2: Key Fact:
The phrase literally translates from Latin as "a person not welcome," and in diplomacy it is used to bar or expel a foreign official from a host country.

Step 3: Checking the Other Options:
It does not mean ungrateful, untrustworthy, or displaced; those are separate concepts with no connection to the phrase's actual Latin roots.

Step 4: Final Answer:
"Persona non grata" means an unwelcome person.
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Approach Solution -2

Breaking the Latin phrase into its two parts explains the meaning directly.

  1. An ungrateful person: "grata" relates to being welcomed or accepted, not to gratitude, so this option misreads the root word.
  2. An unwelcome person: "persona" means "person" and "non grata" means "not accepted" or "not welcome," so together the phrase means exactly a person who is not welcome.
  3. An untrustworthy person: trust is not part of either root word; this option adds a meaning the phrase does not contain.
  4. A displaced person: displacement is a separate idea again, unrelated to either "persona" or "grata."

Reading the two Latin words directly gives "a person not welcome," matching only the second option.

The correct answer is an unwelcome person.

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Question: 5

The Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan was facilitated by:

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The Permanent Indus Commission was {created} by the Treaty; it did not negotiate it.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • The United Nations General Assembly
  • The United Nations Security Council
  • The World Bank
  • The Permanent Indus Commission
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks which organisation facilitated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

Step 2: Key Fact:
The World Bank mediated the lengthy negotiations between India and Pakistan that led to the treaty.

Step 3: Checking the Other Options:
The UN General Assembly and Security Council had no role in the negotiations, and the Permanent Indus Commission was set up only after the treaty, to implement it, not to broker it.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The World Bank facilitated the Indus Waters Treaty.
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Approach Solution -2

Sorting these four bodies into "before the treaty" and "after the treaty" clears this up.

  1. The United Nations General Assembly: was not involved either before or after the treaty in any formal negotiating or implementing role.
  2. The United Nations Security Council: also had no formal involvement at either stage of the treaty process.
  3. The World Bank: belongs firmly to the "before" category, mediating the negotiations that produced the treaty in the first place.
  4. The Permanent Indus Commission: belongs to the "after" category, since the treaty itself created this body to handle implementation, not negotiation.

Since the question asks specifically who facilitated (negotiated) the treaty, only the "before" body, the World Bank, fits.

The correct answer is The World Bank.

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Question: 6

Which of the following is {not a tributary of the River Indus?}

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Group rivers by basin—Indus tributaries are all northern rivers originating in the Himalayas.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • Ravi
  • Jhelum
  • Tapti
  • Chenab
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks which of the four rivers is not part of the Indus river system.

Step 2: Key Fact:
The Indus system's main tributaries are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Step 3: Checking the Options:
Ravi, Jhelum and Chenab all appear on this list, but the Tapti is a separate, west-flowing river of central India that drains independently into the Arabian Sea near Surat.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The Tapti is not a tributary of the Indus.
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Approach Solution -2

Checking which drainage basin each river belongs to settles this directly.

  1. Ravi: part of the Indus drainage basin, rising in the Himalayas and flowing toward the Indus system.
  2. Jhelum: also part of the Indus drainage basin, one of the five rivers that give Punjab its name.
  3. Tapti: part of a completely different drainage basin, rising in the Satpura range of central India and flowing west directly into the Arabian Sea, never joining the Indus system.
  4. Chenab: part of the Indus drainage basin as well, one of its largest tributaries by volume.

Three of the four rivers share the Indus basin; only the Tapti belongs to a separate basin entirely.

The correct answer is Tapti.

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