AdSense Advertisement

Pakistan, India Exchange Prisoners’ Lists and Nuclear Installations Details Under Bilateral Agreements

By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday shared with India the list nuclear facilities and Indian prisoners held in its custody, in line with longstanding bilateral commitments.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andarabi said that the Government of Pakistan handed over a list of 257 Indian prisoners to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The list includes 199 fishermen and 58 other civilian prisoners currently in Pakistani custody.

The exchange of prisoners’ lists is carried out under the Agreement on Consular Access, signed between Pakistan and India on 21 May 2008, he told reporters during a weekly press briefing.

Under this agreement, both countries are obligated to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year—on 1 January and 1 July. In accordance with this arrangement, India is also sharing the list of Pakistani prisoners held in Indian jails with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

He added Pakistan and India also exchanged the lists of their respective nuclear installations and facilities on the same day. The exchange took place under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attacks Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities.

As per the provisions of this agreement, both countries are required to inform each other annually, on 1 January, of their nuclear installations and facilities covered under the treaty.

Accordingly, Pakistan officially handed over its list of nuclear installations and facilities to the representative of the Indian High Commission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. India, in turn, is also providing its corresponding list to Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi.

These routine but significant exchanges reflect the continued implementation of bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India, despite broader political tensions, and are regarded as important confidence-building measures contributing to regional stability and transparency.