India says it will pull troops out of cities and towns in the troubled Muslim-majority state of Kashmir, a first cautious step towards demilitarising a region in which Indian soldiers have battled a fierce Pakistan-backed separatist insurgency for years.

P. Chidambaram, India’s interior minister, said troops would continue to defend the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan but would keep away from population centres, where their highly visible presence generates resentment.