|
The process to withdraw troops in a phased program from the international borders between Pakistan and India has begun as both sides have started removing land mines from their respective border areas, the local newspaper Daily Times reported on Wednesday.
"The president had recently accorded formal approval to a withdrawal plan of troops from the international borders after carefully monitoring the Indian actions, following New Delhi's announcement last month to bring its troops to peace-time locations," the newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying.
Reports from border areas confirmed that both sides have started de-mining and that this process began in the last week of October. "The process to clear land mines will take at least two months, following which the troops will start moving back to theirpeace-time locations," the sources said.
Diplomatic sources also confirmed that the withdrawal of troops would de-escalate tension between the two nuclear rivals, paving the way for talks between their leaderships during the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting in Islamabad early next year.
(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2002)
|
