Pakistani military officials have said they want proof of India's pledged troop withdrawal from their common border before they will start their own pull-back.

India promised on 16 October to pull back its 500,000 troops deployed along the border, marking the most significant step towards a climb-down in the 10-month confrontation.

They are the ones who announced that they are going to pull back. We are waiting for physical evidence of that

Major General Rashid Qureshi

Pakistan, with about 300,000 troops deployed on the border and the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, matched the pledge the following day.

But Pakistan's military spokesman, Major General Rashid Qureshi, said: "We are waiting for physical evidence - we haven't seen any".

The Indian Defence Minister, George Fernandes, told official news agencies in India on 24 October that India's troop withdrawal had begun from borders in Rajasthan and Gujarat states.

"No proof"

Major Qureshi insisted there was no proof of this and told the BBC: "We would know (when India starts) - TV pictures aren't evidence. We would know ourselves.

"They are the ones who announced that they are going to pull back. We are waiting for physical evidence of that."

India and Pakistan have had about one million men stationed along the border since tensions rose following an attack on India's parliament 14 December, 2001.

Many soldiers were delighted at the prospect of returning home

Delhi said the assailants were Pakistan-based militants, while Islamabad insisted there was no proof of that charge.

Pakistan's troops on the international border and the LoC face more than 200,000 Indian troops stationed on the LoC as well as the 500,000 on the international border.

Summit uncertainty

Neither side intends to demilitarise the LoC.

Meanwhile, there has been no breakthrough over the attendance of the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, at a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) due to take place in Islamabad in January.

On Saturday, Mr Vajpayee said his attendance at the SAARC summit would depend on the agenda, and that he did not intend to be "held hostage" over the Kashmir dispute.

The Pakistani Foreign Office has welcomed reports that Mr Vajpayee will attend the summit, but has made no commitment as to whether Kashmir would be on the agenda.