India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear installations

In continuing a 32-year practice, India and Pakistan on Sunday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral pact which prohibits the two sides from attacking each other's atomic facilities.

The exchange of the list took place under the provisions of the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It was done simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad.

''India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of nuclear installations and facilities, covered under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between India and Pakistan,'' the MEA said in a statement.

The agreement was signed on December 31, 1988 and came into force on January 27, 1991.

The pact mandates India and Pakistan to inform each other of the nuclear installations and facilities covered under the agreement on the first of January of every calendar year. ''This is the 32nd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992,'' the MEA said.

The exchange of the list came amid continuing strain in ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism.