Officials from India and Pakistan recently signed an agreement on "reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons'. The pact, signed in the presence of foreign ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri in New Delhi, is an extension of a memorandum of understanding signed in Lahore in February 1999.

Under the agreement, the two sides committed themselves to notifying each other immediately in the event of any accident relating to nuclear weapons which could create the risk of a radioactive fallout or nuclear war. The pact will remain in force for five years and may further be extended.

Meanwhile, India has imposed a ban on the "direct or indirect' export of all items that could contribute to Iran's nuclear fuel enrichment, including reprocessing, or heavy water-related activities as well as development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.