NEW DELHI, July 31: Some 798 Indian troops died in the massive deployment to the borders with Pakistan triggered by a December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Thursday.

An estimated one million troops were sent by India and Pakistan to the borders as New Delhi demanded Islamabad to shut off alleged support to separatists fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

“During the operation, up to July 2003, a total of 798 army personnel suffered fatal casualties,” Fernandes told parliament.

The minister gave no details on how the troops died. However, there have been regular reports of soldiers being killed by landmines on the border.

There are no reliable figures on the number of mines planted during the stand-off, but New York-based Human Rights Watch says India and Pakistan together conducted one of the biggest mining operations since the 1997 Ottawa mine ban treaty, which neither country has signed.

India began pulling back troops from forward positions in October 2002 after elections in held Kashmir.

Fernandes said the process launched in October of “redeploying” the troops was still going on.

Pakistan banned the two groups a month later and denies any link to the parliament attack.—AFP