India has withdrawn troops from Kashmir at the start of Manmohan Singh's first visit to the Indian-administered region since becoming the Indian premier last May.
Up to 1,000 soldiers were seen withdrawing from the southern town of Anantnag, witnesses said. It remains unclear how many soldiers India plans to pull out.
Shortly before Mr Singh's arrival, Indian troops killed two separatist militants as an attack was launched near a stadium in Srinagar where the prime minister later addressed a rally.
In his address, Mr Singh vowed to hold talks with all Kashmiri groups and held out hope of further scaling back the number of troops deployed there if tensions eased.
More than 40,000 people have died in the disputed region since the armed insurgency began 15 years ago. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over their rival claims to the territory, which was split during the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
