Pakistan, India exchange lists of nuclear facilities, prisoners as part of new year tradition

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said it had handed a list of nuclear installations and facilities in the country to the Indian mission in Islamabad on Sunday under a decades-old agreement between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

The neighbours have fought three wars and have had a number of military skirmishes in recent years. Last year, an Indian missile launched accidentally landed in Pakistan after a "technical malfunction", setting off alarms across the world.

“The list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

It added that, under an agreement signed between the two in 1988, lists are exchanged annually on the first of January, and that India had simultaneously handed over a list to the Pakistani mission in New Delhi.

Both countries possess nuclear arsenals of comparable size.

Pakistan holds about 100–120 nuclear weapons, which can be delivered by aircraft and land-based missiles, while India's nuclear arsenal is around 90-110 nuclear weapons, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Of the world's nine nuclear-armed countries, the two are also among the handful that have been increasing their nuclear warhead stockpiles, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

The practice of exchanging lists has been continuing since January 1, 1992.

With the help of China, Pakistan has recently increased its use of nuclear energy to meet the rising demand for electricity. Pakistan first officially tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and has since developed a significant stockpile of nuclear-capable missiles, as has India.

The two nations also exchanged lists of prisoners in each other’s custody as part of an agreement dating back to 2008.

Pakistan shared a list of 705 detained Indians, 51 civilians and 654 fishermen. India shared a list of 434 Pakistanis in its custody, 339 civilians and 95 fishermen.

Pakistan and India arrest each other’s fishermen for crossing the unmarked sea frontier between them. Their maritime security agencies seize the boats and jail the fishermen, who are usually only released after the two countries hold negotiations. Normally they spend years behind bars with no formal trial.

The 2008 agreement gives each side consular access to prisoners and requires them to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody each January and July.

-- With AP