Pakistan and India on Sunday exchanged lists of nuclear installations and facilities, under an agreement to prevent the two nuclear neighbouring countries from attacking each other's nuclear sites. The two countries also exchanged lists of prisoners in each other's custody, under another accord binding the two sides to provide details of the prisoners in the custody twice a year--on January 1 and July 1.
According to Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, a list of requisite nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was given to the Indian High Commission Official at the Foreign Office on Sunday at 11.30 PST. The Indian side also handed over its list to Pakistan High Commission Official at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi at 1200 hours IST.
The Governments of Pakistan and India are required to exchange 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 December 31, 1988. The spokesman said that the lists were exchanged in accordance with the said agreement.
Under the resumed dialogue process, expert groups of the two countries on nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs) and conventional CBMs met in Islamabad on December 26 and 27, 2011. Both sides reviewed the implementation and strengthening of existing CBMs in the framework of Lahore MoU and also agreed to explore possibilities for mutually acceptable additional CBMs.
Meanwhile, according to Agreement on Consular Access, signed between Pakistan and India on May 21, 2008, both countries also exchanged lists of prisoners in each other's custody.
Basit said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the list of Indian prisoners in Pakistan to the Indian High Commission Official at the Foreign office Sunday at 11.30 PST while Indian side also handed over the list of Pakistani prisoners in India to the Pakistan High Commission Official at the Ministry of External Affairs at 1200 PST. Pakistan had recently proposed exchange of each other's citizens who cross the Line of Control (LoC) by mistake.