ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: Pakistan and India exchanged lists of nuclear installations on Thursday, despite tensions fuelled by the Mumbai attacks which derailed the peace process they had been pursuing for about five years.
“The governments of Pakistan and India today exchanged lists of their respective nuclear installations and facilities in accordance with Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India of 31 December 1988,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The lists of nuclear facilities have been regularly exchanged since 1992 under the 1988 agreement that was ratified in 1991. This year’s was the eighteenth consecutive swap.
The agreement requires the two countries to exchange lists of their nuclear installations on Jan 1 each year.
The agreement also requires the two countries not to attack the declared nuclear facilities in the event of war.
Pakistan handed over the list to Political Consular of the Indian High Commission P. Kumaran at the Foreign Office and India provided the list of its installation to an officer of the Pakistan High Commission at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.
PRISONERS LIST: Separately, Pakistan provided to India a fresh list of detained Indian nationals.
However, India sought time to provide a list of Pakistanis languishing in Indian jails.
“We have handed over the list of Indian prisoners to an officer of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Foreign Office today. The Indian side assured us to hand over its list shortly,” Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said.
The list given to India shows that there are 403 Indian nationals, including 343 fishermen, in various Pakistani jails.
The two countries are required to exchange the list of prisoners on Jan 1 and July 1 each year in accordance with the Article-(i) of the Agreement on Consular Access between Pakistan and India signed in May last year.
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