India to replace Kashmir troops with police

India in 2002 said it would cut its Border Security Force (BSF) troops posted in Kashmir and replace them with federal police, said senior border force officer J.B. Negi in the summer capital Srinagar.

"The BSF is being replaced in four phases," said Negi, adding under the first two phases in 2003 and this year, 20,000 of the 50,000 troops were pulled out from counter-insurgency operations.

He said the remaining border troops would be replaced by federal police over the next two years.

The replacement process gained momentum a week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held his first-ever high-level talks with moderate separatists.

Separatists in Kashmir have called for a reduction of troops whom they say are guilty of human rights violations.