Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday terminated the services of three government employees for their alleged involvement in a series of terror-related activities.
The total number of terminations has now crossed 80 following the latest dismissals.
The dismissed employees include a police constable, Malik Ishfaq Naseer of Anantnag,; Ajaz Ahmed a resident of Poonch and a teacher in the school education department and Waseem Ahmad Khan, a Junior Assistant in Health and Medical Education Department and a resident of Srinagar.
All three are currently behind bars.
Government sources said Waseem Khan has has been involved in series of terror activities ranging from passing sensitive information to the Hizbul Mujahideen handlers sitting in Pakistan, harboring terrorists, transportation and supply of weapons etc.
Government sources said that Khan had also a role in the killing of senior journalist Shujat Bukhari. The Editor of Srinagar based newspaper Bukhari, was shot dead near his office in June 2018.
“He (Khan) was involved in terrorist attacks on security forces in Batamaloo and Shaheed Gunj, rifle snatching at Dalgate and targeted killing of renowned journalist Shujaat Bukhari. He is involved in case FIR Nos. 173/2018 of PS Batamaloo, 39/2018 of PS R.M Bagh, 51/2018 of PS Kothibagh and 93/2018 of PS Shaheed Gunj. He is currently lodged at Kote Bhalwal Jail, Jammu since 2018,” they said.
The government sources said Ajaz Ahmed of Sailan, Bufflaiz, Poonch has been a closed associate of a Kashmiri militant based in Pakistan on whose instructions he collected arms and ammunition from Dhangri Rajouri which was to be delivered to the terrorist in Kashmir for carrying out attacks.
Ajaz is currently lodged at District Jail Poonch since 2023.
The government said J&K police senior grande constable, Malik Ishfaq, is the brother of Malik Asif Naseer, who official sources said was a “Pakistan-trained terrorist” of the Lashkar-e-Taiba killed in a police encounter in 2018.
The terminations were carried out under Article 311(2)(C) of the Constitution, which empowers the government to dismiss employees without seeking an explanation or conducting an inquiry into their conduct.
Kashmir based politicians condemned the latest terminations.
“In the days leading up to the sacred occasion of Eid, three government employees have been terminated over alleged links to terrorism leaving their families in distress. Since 2019 hundred of employees have been summarily dismissed without even a trial solely based on unproven allegations of so called terror affiliations, ” former Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said in a post on X.
“While this iron fist approach may create a facade of normalcy genuine sustainable peace can’t be achieved by inflicting suffering on people. Unfortunately the elected government watches completely unmoved like a mute bystander, ” she added.
People’s Conference chairman and MLA Sajad Lone said the termination of government employees is unfortunate.
“Time has come to stop this whole practice or retribution. This termination concept has been going on for decades. It has not helped in the past. It will not help in the future, ” Lone said
Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned what he called inhuman and arbitrary dismissal from government service , invoking a law that can’t be challenged!
“This is despotism! It’s the duty of the elected goverment to stand up to this injustice being periodically meted out to Kashmiri’s by dismissing them in such manner , and safeguard their rights, ” he said.
UNI
