India, Pakistan Exchange Lists of Nuclear Installations

 

ISLAMABAD (NNN-Bernama) -- India and Pakistan have exchanged lists of their nuclear installations and facilities under a two-decade-old pact prohibiting attacks on atomic assets, days after senior officials of the two sides held talks here on conventional and nuclear confidence building measures (CBMs), Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The governments of the two countries are required to exchange lists of their nuclear installations and facilities on Jan 1 every year under the terms of the "Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities" that was signed in December 1988.

In accordance with the agreement, a list of requisite facilities in Pakistan was given to the Indian High Commission official at the Foreign Office, said a statement from the Pakistan Foreign Office Sunday.

The Indian side also handed over its list to the Pakistan High Commission official at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, it said.

This was the 21st consecutive year that the lists of nuclear facilities were exchanged since 1992.

The exchange was conducted even during a freeze in bilateral ties after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The two sides also exchanged list of prisoners currently being held in each other's jails as required twice a year under the Agreement on Consular Access signed in May 2008.

India and Pakistan resumed their peace process early last year after a gap of almost two years.

Following two-day talks on the conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures last week, the two countries agreed to move forward on proposals to extend two key agreements on pre-notification of ballistic missile tests and reducing the risk from accidents related to nuclear weapons.

A Joint Working Group agreed to recommend to the two Foreign Secretaries to extend the validity of the "Agreement on Reducing the Risk from Accidents Relating to Nuclear Weapons" for five years.

It also agreed to recommend the extension of the "Agreement on Pre-Notification of Flight Testing of Ballistic Missiles" by five years.

This pact is set to expire in February.  The two sides reviewed a range of existing CBMs and discussed proposals for additional measures in areas where they could move forward, officials said. -- NNN-BERNAMA