India and Pakistan amassed up to a million troops on their border earlier this year after India blamed Pakistan-based militants for the attack on its parliament.

The two countries came very close to war after the Indian Parliament raid last December and again in May when an army camp was attacked by militants in India-controlled Jammu and Kashmir.

Tensions diminished after high-level international diplomacy, and both sides in October pledged to begin withdrawing their troops.

India said on Oct. 24 that it had begun withdrawing troops from the border. However, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan warned later that tensions with India would remain until the issue of Kashmir was fully resolved.

"Since India had initiated the process of pullback, we also reciprocated," Khan said. But "the real solution to the tension between Pakistan and India will only be possible through starting the process of talks."

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in later November sent a message of congratulations to Pakistan's new prime minister,Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

Jamali was sworn in on Nov. 23 as Pakistan's first civilian prime minister since military President Pervez Musharraf seized power in a military coup three years ago, and then called elections as part of a pledge to return Pakistan to civilian democratic rule.

Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes told Parliament that Indian and Pakistani troops were withdrawing to peace-time locations.

"I am sure it (the pull-back) is largely because the Indians have realized that Pakistan cannot be browbeaten. But it is also the role which the international community has played."

Brajesh Mishra, the principal secretary to the Indian Prime Minister, told a BBC program that a minor incident would not now trigger a war between the hostile neighbors.

"There is no danger today, of a little spark, creating a conflagration," Mishra said.

Some dozens of people have been killed in a spurt of violence in Jammu and Kashmir since Nov. 22, including attacks on two Hindu temples, which India blamed on militant groups based in Pakistan. Analysts say that the attacks are unlikely to lead to a fresh crisis. However, despite the easing of tension, the two countries have shown no sign of moving toward talks.

In Islamabad, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mian Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said that the new government wanted to move forward on India-Pakistan relations and suggested talks between leaders of the two nations.

But New Delhi insists Islamabad end what it calls "cross-border terrorism" before dialogue can begin.

Mishra, who is also the national security adviser to the Indian government, said, that Vajpayee's participation at a regional meeting slated to be held in Islamabad in January could be difficult "in the absence of any substance to the summit."

India has sought what it calls a climate of reconciliation before Vajpayee could travel to Pakistan for the summit of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

"If that happens, we could consider it. But in the absence of any substance to the summit, of course it is very difficult for the prime minister to go," Mishra said.

Pakistan has accused India of trying to sabotage the summit which can only take place if heads of government of all seven South Asian nations attend. The other members are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.

In an interview with foreign journalists, Pakistani Foreign Minister Kasuri said that the summit would be a good opportunity for bilateral talks between the two neighbors aimed at easing tension.

"You asked me whether something could be done quickly. Well, wehave invited the prime minister of India to come to the SAARC summit. The ball is in their court now," he said.

He indicated, "Every sensible Pakistani and every sensible Indian wants to improve relations between the two countries and we have suffered as a result of our bad relations."

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads over Kashmir, a mostly Muslim region in the Himalayas, since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

India and Pakistan each control part of Kashmir and claim it all as their own. They have fought two wars over Kashmir.

India accuses Pakistan of funding and training Islamic militants who cross the frontier to stage attacks in the Indian-controlled region.

Pakistan denies it provides the militants with material aid, but says it gives moral and diplomatic support to what it calls the legitimate struggle for self-determination by the Kashmiri people.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2002)