http://www.spacewar.com/2006/080101091025.umg22cjp.html

Pakistan, India swap nuclear lists

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (AFP) Jan 01, 2008

Pakistan and India on Tuesday exchanged lists of their nuclear sites under an agreement between the South Asian rivals to swap such information annually on New Year's Day, the foreign ministry said.
The information was exchanged under a 1988 agreement on the prohibition of attacks on each other's nuclear installations, a ministry statement said.

Pakistan has sparked international concern that its nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands amid months of political turmoil which peaked with the December 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

"The government of Pakistan and India today exchanged lists of their respective nuclear installations and facilities," the Pakistani foreign ministry statement said.

Officials handed over the lists at each other's foreign ministries in New Delhi and Islamabad, it said.

Mostly Muslim Pakistan and mainly Hindu India have fought three wars since independence from Britain 61 years ago and conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998.

The agreement on handing over details of their atomic facilities came into force in 1991 and the first exchange was on January 1, 1992.

The rivals launched a slow-moving peace process in January 2004 after coming close to another war two years earlier over the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir.

In October 2005 they formalised an agreement on pre-notification of ballistic missile tests.

They have also set up a telephone hotline aimed at preventing accidental nuclear conflict.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/071231/43/6p1u2.html

India, Pakistan to exchange n-installation list

By IANS

Monday December 31, 05:55 PM
New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) India and Pakistan will Tuesday exchange lists of nuclear installations and facilities, in their 17th such annual exercise.

The exchange, which first took place Jan 1, 1992 conforms to the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on Dec 31, 1988 but entered into force only from Jan 27, 1991.


As per the agreement, on one day of each calendar year, India and Pakistan will inform each other of their nuclear installations and facilities - defined as nuclear power and research reactors, fuel fabrication, uranium enrichment, isotopes separation and reprocessing facilities as well as any other installations with fresh or irradiated nuclear fuel and materials in any form and establishments storing significant quantities of radio-active materials.


The exchange is usually conducted by handing over the list of longitudes and latitudes of the nuclear facilities to a designated senior official posted in the either country's High Commission in other's capital.


The main aim of the 1988 document is to commit both countries from taking 'any action aimed at causing destruction of, or damage to, any nuclear installation or facility in other country'.


Interestingly, this agreement is a unique document as it is the only such bilateral pact between two hostile countries.


Besides, on the nuclear front, the two neighbours also share information under the 1999 memorandum of understanding to prevent accidental or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons. Under this, they are to set up communication mechanisms to enable early notification to the other of nuclear accidents.


Meanwhile, under the Composite Dialogue process, India and Pakistan held their last round of experts level talks on nuclear CBMs in New Delhi in October.