India pulls 5,000 troops out of Kashmir

NEW DELHI: India has moved out 5,000 troops from Kashmir following an ebb in militancy in the disputed territory, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday, inisting however it was not a withdrawal.

The troops would be sent back to the divided state if violence again escalates, Mukherjee said on the sidelines of a military conference in New Delhi.

"It is not withdrawal but redeployment of forces from Jammu and Kashmir to the northeastern (states) as (the) violence level has come down," he said.

Mukherjee insisted the withdrawal was a "routine exercise" and dismissed suggestions that it was a gesture ahead of a planned visit to India by US President George W. Bush next month. "The redeployment is a regular exercise undertaken after review of the situation in the state and last year we reduced troops voluntarily," Mukherjee said. Military sources told AFP that at least 6,000 combat troops were pulled out of Kashmir in 2005.

Up to 400,000 combat forces are deployed along the borders of Kashmir, which is claimed both by India and Pakistan. Islamabad earlier this month asked New Delhi to demilitarise three Kashmiri towns to add momentum to their two-year old peace process. New Delhi,Tuesday AFP