NEW DELHI, Nov 12: The Indian army has begun working on a roadmap for de-militarization in Jammu and Kashmir as ordered by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday.

He indicated that the process would be cautious and selective taking into account the region involved and its security requirements, and it would certainly not be an all-encompassing affair.

However, even the notion of a mere Indian resolve to reduce its military presence was enough to enthuse many, including Kashmir's spiritual leader Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq. He told a mammoth Jummatul Vida rally in Srinagar that the Indian step had raised hopes for an early resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

He recalled his recent meeting with President Pervez Musharraf and said the Pakistan leader's observations on the road ahead could become a useful basis for future discussions.

A lot more needed to be done though to make the de-militarization overture a meaningful one, he said. One such was the need for exemplary punishment for the rape of a Kashmiri woman and her daughter in the Kupwara region of Kashmir.

As though in anticipation of the demand by Maulvi Umar, the Indian government late on Thursday night itself announced the suspension of the accused army major.

An official statement said: "The Chief of Army Staff today ordered Major Rehman, alleged in the Kupwara incident, to be suspended and placed under close arrest for violating the laid down procedures with regard to execution of operations.

"In the meanwhile, a Joint Court of Enquiry between the army and police is in progress. DNA samples of Major Rehman, the husband and the lady in question and the daughter have been dispatched to the Forensic Laboratory under the laid down procedures of law."

The army spokesman further emphasized that the court of enquiry will be completed most speedily and suitable action will be taken commensurate to the degree of culpability. About the possibility of the troop withdrawal becoming a mere token, Mr Mukherjee said it would be a wrong description of the move.

"It is not a question of token withdrawal. Whatever is needed in whichever sector will be done...All these matters would be decided at the operational level and not at the policy level," he told Aaj Tak TV. "The prime minister has directed withdrawal of troops. How much reduction in which sector, all these details are being worked out," he said.