AI Generated Summary
- “This exchange of information on nuclear installations and facilities was carried out in accordance with the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities between India and Pakistan,” the MEA said in a brief statement.
- Officials view the continued adherence to the agreement as an important, if limited, mechanism for reducing the risk of conflict involving nuclear infrastructure in the region.
- The development comes at a time when diplomatic ties between the two countries continue to be frozen, following a brief but intense four-day period of military hostilities in May last year.
India and Pakistan on Thursday carried out their annual exchange of information on nuclear installations, maintaining a confidence-building measure that has endured for more than three decades, even as relations between the two neighbours remain severely strained.
The exchange was conducted under a bilateral agreement that bars either country from attacking the other’s nuclear facilities. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the lists were shared simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad.
“This exchange of information on nuclear installations and facilities was carried out in accordance with the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities between India and Pakistan,” the MEA said in a brief statement.
The development comes at a time when diplomatic ties between the two countries continue to be frozen, following a brief but intense four-day period of military hostilities in May last year. Despite the lack of broader engagement, the annual exchange has remained uninterrupted.
The agreement governing the process was signed on December 31, 1988, and came into effect on January 27, 1991. Under its provisions, both sides are required to notify each other every year, on January 1, of nuclear installations and facilities covered by the pact.
Thursday’s exchange marked the 35th consecutive time the lists have been shared, with the first such exchange having taken place on January 1, 1992. Officials view the continued adherence to the agreement as an important, if limited, mechanism for reducing the risk of conflict involving nuclear infrastructure in the region.
