DHAKA, Oct 19: Bangladesh on Saturday hailed the decision by India and Pakistan to pull back troops from their common borders.

“Bangladesh considers the decision to be a first step towards the maintenance of peace and stability in South Asia,” a foreign office spokesman said.

He said the move by Islamabad and New Delhi would divert attention to pressing economic and other issues “confronting” the region and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

India on Wednesday agreed to scale down its deployments from 700,000 to 150,000-200,000 soldiers and a day later Pakistan reciprocated by ordering its troops to wind down battle formations on the borders. —AFP