The move, which comes ahead of a visit to the region by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, marks the first sign the two nuclear-armed neighbours are starting to yield to intense diplomatic pressure, especially from Washington, to pull back from the brink of war.

"There are some indications of a diminution of infiltration, so we felt this response was warranted," foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told a press conference, referring to the lifting of the overflight ban.

"This should be seen as part of our desire for a lasting peace. We have reason to believe that there are some definite tangible changes in the situation and some concrete promises made by Pakistan."

Further measures to ease tension would come when India had more evidence to show infiltrations had been halted altogether, she said.

"This is an ongoing assessment. We are engaged in detailed analysis of the ground situation and will continue to verify and monitor movement around the LoC," Rao said, referring to the Line of Control, the de facto border between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir.

The disputed state of Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, is at the heart of tensions between them.

Pakistan gave a guarded response to India's decision, but said it would consider a reciprocal move.

"Since the ban was imposed by India unilaterally and Pakistan had only responded, we will consider similar action once the decision is notified to Pakistan officially," a foreign ministry official told AFP.

The overflight ban was imposed along with a series of diplomatic sanctions after a suicide attack on the Indian parliament in December which New Delhi blames on Pakistan-backed militants.

The last Pakistan International Airline flight from Lahore to Delhi was on December 31.

After the December attack, India and Pakistan between them moved a million soldiers to their common borders in a tense stand-off that was ratcheted up further last month when militants struck at a military camp in Indian Kashmir, killing 32 people before they were themselves gunned down.

India, warning of a "decisive battle", called on Islamabad to demonstrate it was serious in its commitment to halt infiltrations of militants.

The turning point came last week with a visit to the region by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who secured from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a commitment to take steps to "permanently" halt incursions.

Police in Kashmir confirmed there had been a reduction in infiltration by rebels but warned they would prefer to "wait and watch" before drawing conclusions.

Western diplomats saw the move as the start of a gradual process of de-escalation of tension.

"India does not want to lower its guard immediately," one diplomatic source said, referring to when a troop demobilisation and the withdrawal from forward positions of warships and warplanes could be expected.

"Things are still very uncertain at this stage."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the British parliament that although tensions between India and Pakistan had eased, there still remained a "significant" threat of conflict.

India is pleased with the reduction in infiltration but it is more concerned that Pakistan should start dismantling militants' training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

"Infiltration is a tap that you can turn on or off. We have learnt that it has been turned off right now. But what we really want Pakistan to do is shut down terrorist training camps," said Indian Junior Foreign Minister Omar Abdullah.

Armitage concentrated during his visit on the infiltration issue, while Rumsfeld, due in India probably on Tuesday, is expected to make a breakthrough on the issue of dismantling training camps, the source said.

Dileep Padgaonkar, editor-in-chief of the Times of India newspaper, warned, meanwhile, that militants may use Rumsfeld's visit to launch a new attack in Kashmir or elsewhere in India.

"It will be a big test if there is a terrorist attack," Padgaonkar told AFP. "But I don't think it will change the course of events."

On the ground, meanwhile, an overnight lull in shelling between Indian and Pakistani troops in Kashmir proved shortlived, with police reporting that artillery duels resumed during the day.

Three regions in the R.S. Pora sector in the south were pounded by Pakistani shells which killed a man and a woman and injured three other villagers, police said.

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