ISLAMABAD: With the advent of the new year, Pakistan and India on Monday exchanged lists of their nuclear installations and civilian prisoners in each other’s jails with a request by Islamabad to New Delhi for grant of consular access to missing defence personnel of 1965 and 1971 wars.
The lists of the nuclear installations and facilitates were exchanged through diplomatic channels under separate agreements between the two countries.
According to a statement of the Foreign Office, the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India, inter alia, provides that both countries shall inform each other of their nuclear installations and facilities, falling within its definition, on 1st January of each calendar year. Signed on 31st December 1988, the Agreement entered into force on 27th January 1991.
“Pursuant to Article-II of the Agreement, 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 on Monday,” it stated.
Simultaneously, it added that the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also handed over the list of India’s nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. The two countries have been exchanging the lists since 1st January 1992.
Meanwhile, the two countries also exchanged, through diplomatic channels, the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody.
The simultaneous exchange of lists took place in pursuance of the Consular Access Agreement of 2008. Under the agreement, both countries are required to exchange the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on 1st January and 1st July, every year.
A Foreign Office statement stated that the government of Pakistan handed over a list of 231 Indian prisoners in Pakistan – 47 civilian prisoners and 184 fishermen – to a representative of the High Commission of India in Islamabad.
It added that the government of India shared the list of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails to an officer of Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi.
According to the list, there are a total of 418 Pakistanis in Indian jails – 337 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen.
The statement added that the government of India has also been urged to release and repatriate all those Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen, who have completed their respective sentences and whose national status stands confirmed.
“A request for grant of consular access to missing defence personnel of 1965 and 1971 wars, and special consular access to 77 civil prisoners has also been made,” the statement added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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