Indian government was looking at cutting troops by "25 percent in 12 months from populated areas."

Indian authorities announced it has plans to reduce its security forces by a quarter in the Himalayan region of Kashmir to ease conditions for local people there, as protesters leader dismissed the move demanding full withdrawal by the Indian forces.

Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said Friday said that the government was looking at cutting troops by "25 percent in 12 months from populated areas."
"If we can manage with local police, that would be the most ideal situation, and this is one of the confidence-building measures -- that people don't get harassed by the over-presence of security forces," Pillai said during a university seminar on Kashmir in the Indian capital.

The unexpected announcement on Kashmir by Home Secretary G.K. Pillai is intended to rebuild fractured public goodwill after an uprising by young people in the region last year.
New Delhi faced one of the biggest challenges to its grip on the divided and disputed territory last summer when more than 100 people were shot dead by security forces during violent demonstrations.

"If peace comes, if violence is not there, people are comfortable, we can gradually reduce our presence and make sure that all forces are there only at the border for preventing infiltration," Pillai added.

The presence of hundreds of thousands of paramilitary and army troops in Kashmir -- India does not disclose official troop figures -- is seen by local politicians and observers as fuelling anger against rule from New Delhi.

Protesters leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani dismissed the government's plan and demanded the full withdrawal of Indian forces from the region.
"I will be only satisfied when all the Indian forces stationed in Kashmir are withdrawn," Geelani told AFP news agency.
"The Indian government is always trying to fool Kashmiris by promising troop withdrawals but nothing changes on the ground. Violence and injustice continues in the valley," he added.