Five govt employees terminated in Jammu and Kashmir for alleged 'terror links'

The Jammu and Kashmir administration Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday terminated five more government employees for their alleged involvement in anti national activities.

The five employees terminated under Article 311 (2) (c) of the constitution have been identified as Mohd Ishfaq, a teacher, Tariq Ahmad Shah, a laboratory technician, Bashir Ahmad Mir, an assistant lineman, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a field worker in the Forest Department and Mohd Yousf, a driver in the Health Department.

The orders issued by the administration stated that Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha was satisfied that after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of the information available that their activities are such as to warrant their dismissal from service under Article 311 (2) (c) as the activities of these employees warrant their dismissal from services. "In the interest of the security of the state it is not expedient to hold an inquiry,” read the orders. The officials in an informal more shared with the media stated that these employees had alleged links with "Hizb ul Mujahideen and Lashkar e Toiba."


Political parties in Kashmir condemned such terminations stating that the ruling dispensation is "exploring the law and the institutions like NIA, CBI to target people of Kashmir."

"Article 311 is being selectively used against people of Kashmir. These people should be questioned after a formal enquiry and given a chance to present their case. But as has happened with the institutions like CBI and SIA, this law is being misused," People's Democratic Party legislator from Pulwama of southern Kashmir Waheed Para told reporters here.

The ruling National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that nobody has "a right to be a judge, jury and the executioner" in a democratic society.

"Everybody has the right to put forth his side of the story. This is the course of natural justice. Later the government/courts can decide future course of action. Taking these unilateral decisions are not good for democracy," Dar told reporters here.

At least 87 government employees' services have been terminated since 2021, when the J&K administration constituted a Task Force, to scrutinise government employees suspected of activities requiring action under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution. This provision states that retention of a person in public service, if pre-judicial to the security of the state, can be terminated without recourse to normal inquiry. This law was extended to J&K after abrogation of its special status on August 5, 2019.