India and Pakistan yesterday exchanged lists of their nuclear assets as part of a bilateral pact that bars them from attacking each other's nuclear facilities.

The two sides exchange such lists on the first day of January every year.

In a statement yesterday, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the lists were simultaneously handed over through their respective diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi.

The exchange is part of the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities pact, which was signed by the two countries in December 1988. It was implemented in January 1991, reports AP.

"This is the 34th consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Pakistan and India have had strained relations since their independence from colonial British rule in 1947 over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. They have fought three wars, built up their armies and developed nuclear weapons.

India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, with Pakistan carrying out its first test in 1988.