Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan and India on Monday exchanged the lists of their nuclear installations and facilities as part of an annual practice of the new year.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), list of Pakistan’s nuclear installations was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Simultaneously, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also handed over the list of its nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
The list is exchanged between the two countries under the ‘Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India’.
The agreement provides that both countries shall inform each other of their nuclear installations and facilities, falling within its definition, on 1st January of each calendar year.
Signed on December 31, 1988, the agreement entered into force on January 27, 1991.
The two countries have been exchanging the lists since January 1, 1992.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and India, through diplomatic channels, also exchanged the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody.
According to FO, the simultaneous exchange of lists took place in pursuance of the Consular Access Agreement of 2008.
Under the agreement, both countries are required to exchange the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on January 1 and July 1 every year.
The Government of Pakistan handed over a list of 231 Indian prisoners in Pakistan including 47 civilian prisoners and 184 fishermen to a representative of the High Commission of India in Islamabad.
Similarly, the Government of India shared the list of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails to an officer of Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi.
According to the list, there are a total of 418 Pakistanis in Indian jails including 337 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen.
The Indian government has been urged to release and repatriate all those Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen, who have completed their respective sentence and whose national status stands confirmed.
A request for grant of consular access to missing defence personnel of 1965 and 1971 wars, and special consular access to 77 civil prisoners has also been made.