SRINAGAR, May 27: India is unlikely to reduce the number of troops in occupied Kashmir immediately, the state chief minister said on Sunday, citing a recent surge in violence in the Himalayan region.

In March, New Delhi set up a panel of experts to determine whether to reduce the troop numbers after a fall in violence in the region since 2004.

But Kashmir's Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said recent events suggested troop withdrawal may not be feasible.

“Though all of us desire withdrawal of troops ... it may not be possible to do it in view of the fact that there has been increase in violence incidents in the recent past,” Azad said in a statement.

India has around half a million troops in Kashmir battling a Muslim separatist insurgency. Officials say more than 42,000 people have been killed in the revolt since 1989. Human rights groups put the toll at about 60,000 dead or missing.

India pulled out a few thousand troops in early 2006 from Kashmir due to decreased levels of violence, but local politicians want more soldiers withdrawn.

On Saturday, two soldiers were killed and two wounded when militants exploded a bomb and fired at a security patrol near the Line of Control, a military control line which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Last week, seven militants and a soldier were killed in gun battles in southern Kashmir.—Reuters