Pakistan welcomed on Wednesday the first withdrawal of Indian occupation troops from occupied Kashmir. "This is a positive development and a good beginning," foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told AFP. "We hope that gradual reduction of troops would provide relief to the Kashmiris, promote respect for their human rights, and reinforce the dialogue process." "Concerted efforts should be made to replace the culture of violence with a culture of dialogue," Khan said.
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal said the troop pullout was neither a "withdrawal, nor solution to the problem," and repeated long-held calls to let Kashmiris choose rule by Pakistan or India through a plebiscite.
"It's an eyewash," Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who heads the alliance, told AFP.
"If India is sincere, it should respect the voice of Kashmiris and give them the right to decide their future according to the UN resolutions," he said, referring to UN Security Council resolutions dating back to 1948.
The political wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba said "jihad" would continue "until Kashmiris are given the chance to decide their own future."
"The token withdrawal is nothing but fraud to please the United States and the Western world," spokesman Yahya Mujahid told AFP.
"The token withdrawal will not restore the confidence of the Kashmiri people as they want a political solution," said Qari Sher Afzal, vice president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.
But leading Kashmiri leader Javed Mir hailed Manmohan Singh's remarks.
"I welcome the step taken by India," Mir said. "But there is a need to take further steps to resolve the issue of occupied Kashmir permanently. Now troops should be asked to end human rights violations and behave."