India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear installations under 1988 bilateral pact

livemint.com:

Pakistan on Monday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral pact signed in 1988 and came into force in 1991 that prohibits the two countries from attacking each other's atomic facilities. The list of nuclear installations and facilities, covered under the provisions of the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, were simultaneously exchanged in New Delhi and Islamabad through diplomatic channels, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of nuclear installations and facilities, covered under the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities between India and Pakistan," the MEA said. This is the 33rd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992, the MEA added.

The agreement—signed on December 31, 1988, and came into force on January 27, 1991—mandates both the two countries to inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the agreement on the first of January of every calendar year. The exchange of the list came amid frosty ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism.

Both countries have not had any formal talks since they ended the composite dialogue in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based terror group, in which 166 people were killed and several injured. The political leadership of both countries made several attempts to resume the contact.