ISLAMABAD: Islamabad and New Delhi exchanged their respective lists of nuclear installations on Saturday, Pakistan’s foreign office said, as both countries are bound by a bilateral arrangement that prohibits them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities.
The Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between India and Pakistan was signed on Dec. 31, 1988 and entered into force on Jan. 27, 1992.
The agreement was drafted after a major military exercise, Brasstacks was carried out by the Indian Army in Rajasthan in 1986-87, raising fears of a possible Indian attack on Pakistan’s nuclear facilities.
It provides, inter alia, that the two nuclear-armed archrivals must inform each other about their atomic installations and on the first of January of every calendar year.
“The list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, at 1030 hours (PST),” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
At the same time the Indian government submitted its list of nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
The exchange of information comes despite ongoing tensions between the countries, which have heightened since August 2019, when New Delhi scrapped special autonomous status of the part of Kashmiri territory under its administration.
Both Pakistan and India claim the disputed Kashmir region in full but rule it in part.
On Aug. 5, 2019, New Delhi abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution that granted Kashmir autonomy. It also divided the state into two federally administered units — Union Territory of Ladakh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The move was followed by Pakistan’s decision to downgrade its diplomatic relations with India and expelled the Indian high commissioner.
