Pakistan and India exchanged lists of their nuclear assets on Wednesday as part of a long-standing agreement aimed at preventing attacks on each other’s nuclear facilities.
The agreement, titled the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, was signed in December 1988 and requires both nations to share details of their nuclear installations every January 1. This practice has been followed annually since 1992.
According to state media, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over its list to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Similarly, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs shared its list with a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
The exchange takes place amid persistent tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, which have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, primarily over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety but govern separate portions of it.
Relations between the two nations have worsened recently following India’s Supreme Court decision to uphold the controversial revocation of Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status.
India and Pakistan first conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1988, respectively.
