June 19, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 7, 1423

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NEW DELHI, June 18: India is ready to pull back troops from its borders with Pakistan as soon as it sees evidence of Islamabad reining in militants and dismantling their training camps, a senior Indian government official said on Tuesday.

“It could be any time frame, two to three weeks or 10 to 12 weeks or more,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

“It all depends on Pakis-tan and President Pervez Musharraf acting on the assurances he has given,” the official told AFP.

“We need to see evidence on the ground that infiltration has stopped and Islamabad has dismantled the training camps for militants.”

Troops stationed along the international borders — in the states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat — would be the first to be pulled back, other sources said.

Troops stationed along the Line of Control would stay put until state elections scheduled for September/October are completed, they added.

“The government’s first priority is to ensure that the elections in Kashmir ... are held peacefully,” the official said.—AFP