From correspondents in Jammu and Kashmir, India, 10:00 PM IST

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram gave a 'positive response' to suggestions of troop reductions in Kashmir, People Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said Thursday.

The home minister gave 'a very positive response to (the) suggestions' of scraping the special powers given to the armed forces and withdrawal of troops from Jammu and Kashmir, she said.

'I asked the home minister for replacement of the army and the paramilitary forces from urban and semi-urban centres by the police.

'We suggested that the process of troop reduction and demilitarisation should begin with the district headquarters and care should be taken that the relocated army and paramilitary camps should not in anyway inconvenience the civilian population in areas where they are re-deployed,' Mehbooba Mufti told the media after her meeting with the minister.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)