India has agreed to pull its troops out of inhabited areas of Kashmir for the first time in almost 20 years, one of its boldest moves yet to resolve the issue at the core of its dispute with neighbouring Pakistan.

It has also agreed to review a hugely unpopular law giving the army and paramilitary troops freedom to arrest, kill and torture with impunity.

Palaniappan Chidambaram, the Home Minister, announced the moves yesterday on a visit to Kashmir designed in part to ease tensions after the alleged rape and murder of two Muslim women by security forces. The announcement coincided with a visit to India by William Burns, the US Under-Secretary of State, to persuade it to pull troops back from Pakistan’s border and renew peace talks over Kashmir.

India has about 500,000 soldiers and paramilitary troops in Kashmir, which is claimed in its entirety by India and Pakistan and has caused two of the three wars between them since they won independence from Britain in 1947.

India’s army and paramilitary police were deployed across Kashmir after an uprising against Indian rule began in 1989, and are still responsible for security in the region. However, Mr Chidambaram said that the local police, under the command of the state government, would soon take over security operations in towns, cities and other inhabited areas.

Paramilitary police, which come under the federal Home Ministry, would guard VIPs and sensitive buildings, and would back up police when necessary, but would not patrol the streets.

The army would continue to be responsible for “conventional defence” along the disputed border, preventing infiltration by militants, and combating terrorism. “But we would like the army to do it in areas far away from towns and cities,” Mr Chidambaram said. “In inhabited areas, in towns and cities, the primary responsibility for maintaining law and order and public order must always rest with the state police. This redrawing of the lines of responsibilities will take time.” The announcement was immediately welcomed by Kashmiris, who are mostly Muslim. Many want independence, greater autonomy within India, or integration with Pakistan.

India’s predominantly Hindu troops in Kashmir have often been accused of raping, kidnapping, torturing, beating and killing Kashmiris with impunity, especially since the uprising began.

The army has been protected by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, while the paramilitary police are not officially covered by the law but in practice enjoy similar impunity. The state police also have a reputation for brutality and corruption, but are answerable to the state, rather than the central, Government.

“This is really significant because it transfers accountability back to the state government,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, of Human Rights Watch. “Politically, it is also important because of the persistent demands for greater autonomy.”

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