Pakistan to pull back troops

India said it would withdraw troops from its frontiers with Pakistan, but would maintain its full deployment in the divided region of Kashmir

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan says it will pull back hundreds of thousands of troops along the border with India, matching a similar pledge by New Delhi.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Aziz Khan said on Thursday the forces will return to their usual peacetime locations soon.

India said Wednesday it would pull half a million troops back from the frontier but added there would be no pullout in the troubled Jammu-Kashmir region.

The disputed state, where separatist militants have been fighting to wrest control of the region from India, has been a flashpoint between the two nuclear-armed neighbors for more than half a century.

Last summer, tensions along the 2,900 kilometer (1,800-mile) border appeared to be heading toward a possible fourth war between the two.

Relief

Analysts have viewed each announcement as a concrete step towards easing military tensions.

In Washington, the Bush administration greeted word of the Indian redeployment with relief.

"We welcome the withdrawal," a State Department official told CNN. "We're happy to hear about it."

"The announced reductions will lead to a lessening of tensions and risks. We urge both countries to continue to take steps to reduce the threat of conflict and create an atmosphere allowing resumption of dialogue, which is the only way their differences can be resolved," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement.

Officials said they were not given advance warning of India's decision to pull back, but speculated it may be because so many Indian troops have been on full alert since last year and with bad weather approaching this was "a good time to start lowering the level of alert."

India moved massive numbers of troops to the border last December in response to a militant attack on India's Parliament for which the government held Pakistan responsible.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf denied any involvement.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting Islamic militants who maintain terrorist training camps in Pakistan and continue to cross over and launch attacks into Indian-controlled Kashmir.

-- CNN State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

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