Pakistan and India have agreed to extend their pact on reducing the risk of nuclear accidents by five years.

“Pakistan and India have agreed to extend their bilateral agreement on Reducing the Risk from Accidents Relating to Nuclear Weapons for the next five years (2017-2022),” said a statement released by the Foreign Office (FO).

The agreement came into force in 2007 and was subsequently extended for a second fiver-year period in 2012.

The agreement forms a part of the nuclear confidence-building measures agreed to by the two countries and is aimed at promoting stability and security.

The agreement between the two countries enables immediate exchange of information in the event of any incident relating to nuclear arms under their respective jurisdiction and control, which could risk a nuclear fallout or create the risk of a nuclear exchange, added the FO statement.

Both India and Pakistan have so far refused to become a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but aspire to the membership of a 48-nation international nuclear trade cartel dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that can foster nuclear weapons development.

As a precondition for entry, the group's members have to become signatories to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.