Pakistan's military officials yesterday said all Pakistani troops that were mobilised after the concentration of Indian forces would be withdrawn while urging India to come to the negotiating table to resolve the Kashmir dispute and all other issues between the two countries.
Pakistan said all its troops would be pulled back from its internationally-recognised border with arch-enemy India, but refused to specify numbers.

"Pakistan will withdraw all its troops to peacetime locations," military spokesman Major General Rashid Qureshi said.

He was unable to give a time-table for the withdrawals.

Pakistan announced the troop withdrawal on Thursday in response to India's decision a day earlier to demilitarise the international border, signalling the biggest step towards de-escalation in the tense 10-month military standoff between the nuclear neighbours.

Foreign office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said the demilitarisation of the border would improve the climate and Pakistan "hopes it would lead to resumption of dialogue between the two countries."

The Indian decision to withdraw troops massed on the frontier since December last year has " vindicated" Pakistan's stand for peaceful resolution of problems, Khan reiterated at a press briefing.

"We hope good sense will prevail and India will come to the negotiating table," he said.

He welcomed statements by some Indian ministers that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would attend the Saarc summit scheduled for January in Pakistan.

The spokesman said Islamabad would respond positively to India's decision in June lifting restrictions on over flights by Pakistani commercial planes.

"The matter is under consideration and when the response is ready we will announce it."

He said Pakistan had not yet received any communication from India on the question of exchange of ambassadors between the two capitals.

"It is for India to make a move in this regard as it had unilaterally withdrawn its ambassador from Islamabad," the spokesman pointed out.