Continuing a practice that spans over three decades, India and Pakistan on Thursday exchanged their annual list of nuclear installations under a bilateral agreement that prohibits attacks on each other’s atomic facilities. The exchange comes amid sharply strained relations following the four-day military confrontation in May 2025, triggered by the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the exchange was carried out simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad. “India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels, simultaneously at 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,” the MEA said.
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Signed on December 31, 1988, and in force since January 27, 1991, the agreement mandates the annual exchange of such lists on January 1. This marks the 35th consecutive exchange since the first one in 1992. The pact covers nuclear power plants, research reactors, enrichment and reprocessing facilities, and storage sites containing radioactive material, along with their locations.
Security experts view the exchange as an important confidence-building measure that helps reduce the risk of miscalculation during periods of heightened tension. Despite its limitations — including the absence of verification mechanisms — the agreement has endured through wars, terror attacks and diplomatic crises.
