ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and India have carried out their routine exchange of nuclear site information and lists of prisoners in each other’s custody, according to the foreign ministries of both countries. The move comes amid continuing strains in bilateral relations following the four-day military clash in May 2025.
Under the Consular Access Agreement, the two countries exchange prisoner lists twice a year, on January 1 and July 1. Similarly, a 1988 treaty requires annual notifications of nuclear installations to prevent attacks on these sites.
Pakistan handed over a list of 257 Indian prisoners, including 58 civilians and 199 fishermen, to India’s High Commission in Islamabad, while India shared the names of 391 civilian and 33 fisherman detainees believed to be Pakistani. Pakistan also provided details of its nuclear facilities, and India reciprocated by sharing its own list of nuclear installations.
The exchanges occurred a day after Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka, marking the first official high-level contact since the May clashes. The conflict followed an April 22 militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan, leading to four days of missile, artillery, and aerial exchanges before a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
