Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

New Delhi: The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has asserted that the Centre will have to concede his People's Democratic Party "some space" on its demand for reduction/withdrawal of troops from the State.

Mr. Sayeed is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday. He arrived here on Wednesday in response to an invitation from Dr. Singh to find a way out of the stalemate created by the Centre's rejection of the PDP's demand and by the party's decision to stay away from State Cabinet meetings.

Talking to The Hindu , the PDP patron made no attempt to hide his disappointment that Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had "needlessly muddied" the political waters by rubbishing the demand, that too publicly and just two days before the Manmohan Singh-Sayeed meeting.

According to knowledgeable sources, there is a sense of annoyance in the Congress hierarchy with Mr. Azad for being "tactless" in responding to the PDP demand. It is being felt that he has been provocative and has compounded the task of political management at a time when the State is inching towards normality. Mr. Azad's public stance runs contrary to the spirit of Dr. Singh's letter to Mr. Sayeed on troops withdrawal. The Prime Minister's aides have also taken note of Governor Gen. (retd.) S.K. Sinha's "totally uncalled for" comments. He was reported to have described the PDP demand as "obnoxious."

According to an associate of the PDP leader, the Governor also dubbed the Mufti "anti-national" in a conversation with lawyer Ram Jethmalani in Jammu two days ago. The conversation has been duly reported back to PDP leaders.

In the capital, Mr. Sayeed interacted with a number of present and former officials, who are or were involved with "Kashmir affairs." Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz also called on Mr. Sayeed.

The Mufti is also likely to meet United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

"An old friend"

PTI reports:

Addressing journalists at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Dr. Singh said he would not like to speculate on demands for troops reduction.

``I am looking forward to meeting Mufti Sahib,'' he said calling the PDP leader an "old friend."

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