Pakistan takes steps against militants

Pakistan is treading a delicate tightrope as it takes subtle steps against anti-India militants, trying to prove its willingness for rapprochement with India without alienating Islamic hardliners, diplomats and officials said.

In the past fortnight Pakistan has banned outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar from entering its zone of Kashmir, and initiated unprecedented charges against the bodyguards of Pakistan-based commander of the Hizbul Mujahedin guerrillas, Syed Salahuddin, for carrying guns in public.

"They're moving on them," a Western diplomat, who would not be identified, told AFP.

"This is the beginning. We're going to see more of these apparently small, but significant moves. The Pakistani authorities feel at this stage they can't afford to do anything more radical, but at the same time they want to show they are serious about improving things with India."

As the rival nuclear neighbours set in motion a series of confidence building measures to lead to talks after a tense 17-month standoff, India has upped its demands for the dismantlement of "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan, including militant training camps.

A senior government official, who asked not to be named, pointed to the moves against Azhar and the Hizbul bodyguards as a "clear signal" of Islamabad's commitment to build a climate conducive for dialogue with India.

"We are making a determined effort to contain militancy and discourage those who are promoting violence in the name of jihad (holy war)," said the official, who is closely associated involved in efforts to reign in militants, told AFP. India accuses Pakistan of using Islamic guerrillas to wage a proxy war since 1989 against its rule in Kashmir, the Himalayan region straddling the neighbours, claimed by both and divided between them.

India says 38,500 people have died in the insurgency, while Pakistan says 90,000 Kashmiris have been killed by Indian troops in the same period.