Islamabad, 2 January 2023 (TDI): Pakistan said it handed a list of its nuclear installations and facilities to the Indian mission in Islamabad on Sunday. The Foreign Office of Pakistan shared the information.
According to the statement, India had simultaneously handed over a list to the Pakistani mission in New Delhi. The practice has been in place for decades.
The exchange followed an agreement on the “Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities” between Pakistan and India. It was signed on December 31, 1988, and ratified on January 27, 1991.
List of prisoners
Additionally, a list of each other’s citizens who are imprisoned has also been exchanged between the two nations.
The simultaneous exchange of lists took place under the Consular Access Agreement of 2008. It states that both countries need to exchange the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on January 1 and July 1, every year.
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The list contained 705 Indian inmates held in Pakistan, including 654 fishermen and 51 civilians, according to the statement.
The Pakistani embassy in New Delhi also received a list of 434 Pakistani captives in India at the same time, including 339 civilians and 95 fishermen.
Pakistan has asked for the early release and return of 94 fishermen who have served their sentences, as well as 51 of its detained civilians.
Furthermore, a request for the grant of consular access to missing defense personnel from the 1965 and 1971 wars and special consular access to 56 civil prisoners has also been made by Pakistan.
Due to contested maritime boundaries and small fishermen without reliable navigational equipment, maritime trespassing often occurs in India and Pakistan.
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Owing to the unfriendly relations between the two nations, it is usual practice to arrest fishermen who are found to violate the maritime boundary. However, the procedure for releasing them is challenging.
The annual exchanges took place at a time when diplomatic ties between the two countries are virtually non-existent.
Notably, both neighbors are extensively involved in three wars and several military skirmishes in recent years. Last year, an Indian missile landed in Pakistan by accident, raising global concerns.
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