India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged lists of civilian prisoners and nuclear installations, following the January 1 tradition outlined in two separate agreements. The exchange of the list of nuclear facilities took place under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between the two countries.
“The Agreement, which was signed on 31 December 1988 and entered into force on 27 January 1991 provides, inter alia, that India and Pakistan inform each other of the nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the Agreement on the first of January of every calendar year,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press statement. This is the 33rd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 01, 1992.
Besides the nuclear facilities, the list of civilian prisoners and fishermen was exchanged under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access. Such lists are exchanged every year on 1st January and 1st July, MEA said. India shared lists of 337 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen in its custody, who are Pakistani or are believed to be Pakistani. Similarly, Pakistan shared lists of 47 civilian prisoners and 184 fishermen in its custody, who are Indian or are believed to be Indian.
According to the MEA statement, the Indian government has called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel, and fishermen along with their boats, from Pakistan’s custody. “In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 184 Indian fishermen, who have completed their sentence. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to the remaining 12 civilian prisoners in Pakistan’s custody, who are believed to be Indian,” MEA said.
In the statement, MEA said that India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country. “In this context, India has urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the nationality status of 65 believed-to-be Pakistani prisoners, including fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan,” the ministry said.
“As a result of sustained efforts by the Government, 2639 Indian fishermen and 67 Indian civilian prisoners have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014. This includes 478 Indian fishermen and 09 Indian civilian prisoners who were repatriated from Pakistan in 2023,” it added.
(With inputs from Shailendra Wangu)
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