By Kenneth J. Cooper
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 22, 1999; Page A09

LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb. 21—India and Pakistan agreed today to work to reduce the risk of a nuclear war by exchanging strategic information about their arsenals and giving each other advance notice of ballistic-missile tests.

The neighboring nations, which have endured a half-century of mutual hostility, also pledged to intensify diplomatic efforts to resolve their central dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir as well as other differences. The contacts would include periodic meetings between foreign ministers and a proposed visit to India by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The agreements came at the end of a weekend summit in Pakistan's second-largest city, where Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was welcomed with orchestrated friendliness as the first Indian premier to visit Pakistan in a decade. Both countries were eager to make progress on their disputes, partly in response to the international pressure that followed their reciprocal nuclear tests last year.

"The two sides shall engage in bilateral consultations on security concepts and nuclear doctrines, with a view to developing measures for confidence-building in the nuclear and conventional fields aimed at the avoidance of conflict," the countries said in a joint statement.

Shamshad Ahmad, Pakistan's top career diplomat, said the two countries will share information about how many warheads and ballistic missiles each possesses and how their nuclear weapons are deployed.

"We're going to discuss all these things that will enable the countries to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict, conventional conflict and . . . an arms race," Ahmad said in an interview.

An Indian delegate, who asked not to be named, predicted that such sensitive information would not be exchanged right away because the countries do not trust each other enough. The Indian diplomat hinted at a possible first step by recalling that Vajpayee last October generally outlined India's nuclear doctrine in Parliament, while Sharif has not made a similar public statement.

The most significant move made to reduce the risk of nuclear war was an agreement to "undertake to provide each other with advance notification in respect of ballistic missile flight tests" even before a bilateral treaty to do so is signed. Both countries have planned to test advanced models of ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear warheads.

In another move to build mutual confidence, the countries promised similar notice of "any accidental, unauthorized or unexplained incident that could create the risk of a [nuclear] fallout" or an "outbreak of nuclear war between the two countries."

The provision appeared designed to prevent a nuclear showdown being provoked by inaccurate information about accidents or mistakes.

No accord was reached on other proposals, such as a bilateral treaty to ban a first nuclear strike and a balanced reduction of conventional forces. But the Indian diplomat said the two countries began to adopt nuclear restraints within a year of openly going nuclear, much faster than the United States and the former Soviet Union did during the Cold War. Both India and Pakistan have agreed to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty before a September deadline.

Pakistani officials appeared quite pleased about the joint statement to seek a solution to the Kashmir dispute and Vajpayee's openness about discussing what Islamabad calls "the core issue" facing the neighbors. In a communique signed by Vajpayee and Sharif, the prime ministers promised their governments "shall intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir."

The countries have fought two wars since 1947 over the divided Himalayan territory, which both countries claim. Muslim separatists in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir have waged a decade-long insurgency with Pakistan's covert assistance. Pakistan has accused India of violating human rights in suppressing the insurgency, in which more than 18,000 people have died.

"We will negotiate with sincerity on this and on all other issues," Vajpayee said at a joint news conference. "It's very difficult for me to say what solution will emerge, but we wait for the outcome."

Asked about India's accusation that Pakistan has sponsored terrorists in Kashmir, Sharif replied: "Whatever happens in India, they blame Pakistan. Whatever happens in Pakistan, we blame India. There is a need now of getting out of this."

Sharif added that "neither Pakistan nor India has gained anything from the conflicts and tensions of the past 50 years."

In a speech to prominent Pakistanis invited to a reception on the spacious lawn of an official residence, Vajpayee made an appeal for friendship in Hindi, which is similar to Pakistan's national language, Urdu. The speech was warmly received with frequent claps and chuckles.

"I think the feelings are reciprocal, but let's see how we progress," said Amir Nawaz, a senior government official.