CSS Current Affair Syllabus

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Current Affairs Syllabus for CSS 2023

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The syllabus of Current Affairs of CSS 2023 can be divided into the following parts.

1. Pakistan Domestic Affairs (20%)
2. Pakistan External Affairs (40%)
3. General Issues (40%)

Part-I: Pakistan’s Domestic Affairs

1. Political: This section covers political history of Pakistan, democratic process in Pakistan, comparison of democratic and military regimes, constitutional crisis in Pakistan, salient features of the constitution of 1956, 1962, 1973 and subsequent constitutional amendments.

2. Economic: This section covers economic history of Pakistan, current economic situation, performance of important sectors of economy .g. agriculture, manufacturing, services sector, trade imbalance, future of economy of Pakistan.

3. Social: This section focuses on areas like poverty, unemployment and its impact on society, terrorism and extremism in Pakistan and how to curtail it, social stratification, women development, etc.

Part-II: Pakistan’s External Affairs

1. Pakistan’s relations with neighbours (India, China, Afghanistan, Russia): Important areas to cover in this segment include are; water issues with India, trade with India and challenges, Indus Water Treaty (IWT), history and future of Pak-India relationship, the history of Pakistan-China relationship, China Pakistan Economic Corrrdor (CPEC), impact of CPEC on the economy of Pakistan, pros and cons of CPEC, challenges regarding CPEC, the history of Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship, Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship in the backdrop of war on terror (post 9/11 scenario), the future of Pakistan-Afghan relationship, the history of Pak-Russia relationship (in context of the Cold War), Afghanistan-Pakistan water agreement, Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace process, CPEC and changing geo-politics viz-a-viz Pak-Russia relationship, new strategic relationship between Pakistan and Russia and the future of Pak-Russia relations.

2. Pakistan relations with the United States: History of Pak-US relations, pros and cons of a long-term engagement with USA, Pak-US relations in post 9/11 scenario, Pak-US relations under Trump and Biden regime.

3. Pakistan’s relations with regional and international organizations: This includes the United Nations (UN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Focus on the role of UN in resolving issues related to Pakistan/South Asia. Pakistan’s contribution to the UN especially peacekeeping missions, India’s bid regarding permanent membership of UNSC and challenges for Pakistan, SAARC and its role, making SAARC an effective regional organization, ECO and its role in regional politics, role of OIC and challenges and reasons for failure in the uniting the Muslim world, OIC and the Middle-East crisis, WTO: function of WTO, various bodies of WTO, agreements under WTO, impact of WTO on world’s economy, WTO and Pakistan, impact of WTO on the economy of Pakistan, FATF and Pakistan: the impact of being in the ‘Grey list’, the role and remit of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the pandemic.

4. Pakistan’s relations with the Muslim world (Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey): This includes the history of their relationships, Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, CPEC and its impact on Pak-Iran relations, future prospects of Pak-Iran relations, the recent Turkey-Pakistan increasing defense ties, .

Part- III: Global Issues

1. International security: Threats to the international security, armaments, lingering issues posing threat to global peace

2. International political economy: The capitalism and its future, mercantilism. North-South divide, the role of IMF and the World Bank, commonalities in the social, political and economic structures of developing countries.

3. Human rights: Human rights violations in the world, the role of the western countries and the UN in prevention human rights violations

4. Environmental issues: The global warming, Kyoto protocol, Paris Climate Agreement, global warming and its impact on Pakistan.

5. Terrorism and counter-terrorism: Global war on terrorism, impact of GWOT on social, economic and political aspects of Pakistan, AF-PAK policy and its critical analysis.

6. Global energy politics: The current oil price and their impact on the instability of the Middle-East region, Petro wars in the Middle-East region.

7. Nuclear Proliferation and Security: Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the nuclear deterrence in South Asia, Pakistan’s stance on NPT, the comparison of Pakistan and India nuclear and ballistic missile program and capability, Cold Start doctrine and Pakistan’s response.

8. Cooperation and Competition in Arabian Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans: Gwadar Port and its significance and challenges, China’s string of pearls, China’s growing influence in South China Sea and Indian Ocean.

9. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): The details of MDGs, analysis of the implementation of MDGs, how successful has MDGs implementation been, Pakistan and implementation of MDGs, the challenges in the way of MDGs and way forward, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)

10. Globalization: What is globalization, factors ‘behind globalization, positive and negative aspects of globalization, impacts of globalization on social, cultural, economic and political aspects of Pakistan, Globalisation and the COVID-19 pandemic.

11. Middle East Crisis: Arab spring, the roots of Middle-East crisis, external and internal factors precipitation, impact of Middle-East crisis on Pakistan, the role of middle powers in the Middle East imbroglio.

12. Kashmir Issue: Historical background, the UN resolutions, Kashmir’s status after 5th August 2019, hindrances and steps taken so far in resolving the issue, Pakistan’s new political map.

13. Palestine Issue: History of Palestine issues, the Arab-Israel wars, impact of new Israeli settlements on Palestine conflict, steps taken for resolution of Palestine issue, Trump’s peace plan on Palestine, Israel’s relations in the Muslim countries and impacts on Pakistan, the challenges in the way of peaceful settlement of the Palestine issue.