How many times India and Pakistan exchanged the list of their nuclear installations under an agreement that aims to prevent both sides from attacking such installations till January 2018?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, 27. India and Pakistan are bound by the 1988 Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, under which each side hands the other a list of its nuclear installations and facilities on 1 January every year. The first exchange took place on 1 January 1992, so the exchange on 1 January 2018 was the 27th consecutive one.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) A count of 25 would correspond to 1 January 2016 — two exchanges too early.  (b) A count of 26 corresponds to 1 January 2017 — one short of the January-2018 total.  (d) The 28th exchange was reached only on 1 January 2019 — one year after the date in the question.

Concept: The India–Pakistan non-attack agreement is a confidence-building measure (CBM): both states pledge not to attack each other's nuclear installations, and to make that pledge credible they exchange lists of those installations every 1 January. Signed on 31 December 1988, it entered into force on 27 January 1991 and the annual exchange has continued unbroken even through periods of high tension.

State PCS 2018 Q12 — Current Affairs & Sports PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2018 Q12 — Current Affairs & Sports PYQ with Answer