India is to decide today whether to pull back troops from the border with Pakistan, a move that could signal the first big easing of tensions between the nuclear-armed foes.
Both countries have had nearly a million soldiers massed on their border since a raid last December on the Indian parliament that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based separatist rebels fighting its rule in Indian Kashmir.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will chair a closed-door meeting of the National Security Advisory Board to review the deployment of troops along the Pakistan border, a government official said.
The meetings follow state elections in Indian Kashmir which threw out the ruling National Conference, led by the Abdullah family, which had dominated the state for more than half a century.
Hard-line Islamist parties opposed to the US role in Afghanistan made a strong showing in the elections.
India is hoping the creation of a new government will help ease support for the separatist revolt by engaging Kashmiris who had been marginalized in the past.
So far however, the two parties seen as likely to form a coalition - the main national opposition Congress party and Kashmir's People's Democratic Party have been unable to agree on forming a government.
India and Pakistan have been under heavy pressure from the United States and the European Union to reduce border tensions through a staggered withdrawal of troops and armor.
But this week, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani ruled out talks with Islamabad, saying it was supporting "cross-border terrorism" in Kashmir.
Pakistan denies giving military backing to separatists but says it gives moral support to the Kashmiri "freedom struggle."