Centre warms up to Mufti's suggestion on troop positions

The Centre seems to be all ears to Kashmiri leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's suggestion that withdrawal of troops from orchards, tourist spots, government offices and hospitals will significantly reduce the hostility of the people towards the armed forces.

The Mufti has asked the Centre to consider this as the first step, pending the constitution of an eight-member committee to go into the larger issue of troop withdrawal.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) leader recently met the prime minister's security advisor, MK Narayanan, and gave him details of the "forcible occupation'' of various premises by the Army.

The PDP's list of places under unauthorised control of the Army includes about 70 schools in Doda district of Jammu, hundreds of kanals of orchards in the Kashmir region and some state government offices.

Sources close to Sayeed said the PDP leader pointed out that although during his tenure as chief minister, the government had constructed temporary accomodations at the cost of Rs 60 lakh for the Army in Kokeranag, a tourist resort of south Kashmir, the troops continued to stay in tourist huts.

Mufti said withdrawal of troops from what used to be places for social interaction - Amarsingh Club and Nigin Club - could revive the city's night life and facilitate the return of normalcy to the Valley.

In South Kashmir's Anantnag town, the armed forces have been living on a piece of land given for a housing colony while in Darhal, Rajouri, jawans are staying in the office of the block development officer (BDO).

A former minister belonging to the PDP told Business Standard that "huge economic losses caused to the orchadists in Kashmir add to peoples antipathy towards the forces.''

Sources said Narayanan asked the state government to identify the places that could be immediately vacated by the troops. The state government has also been asked to identity the alternative places for lodging the troops.

Meanwhile, sources said Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was likely to announce the formation of an eight-member committee, headed by Narayanan, to review the deployment of security forces in Kashmir this week.