J&K L-G sacks three govt. employees day after Mehbooba's plea for political initiatives
The terminated employees were identified as Malik Ishfaq Naseer, a police constable from Anantnag district; Ajaz Ahmed, a school teacher from Poonch district; and Waseem Ahmad Khan, a junior assistant at the Government Medical College, Srinagar, who is a resident of Srinagar's Batamaloo area.
'Whereas, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) is satisfied after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of the information available, that the activities of Malik Ishfaq Naseer, Senior Constable in Jammu and Kashmir Police Department, are such as to warrant his dismissal from service. Accordingly, the LG hereby dismisses Naseer from service, with immediate effect,' reads one of the three orders.
According to officials, the terminated employees were at present lodged in jails. Security agencies accuse the terminated employees of having links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen. They are accused of ferrying weapons for terrorists and provide logistic support to terrorists in J&K.
The termination came just a day after former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti called on Mr. Sinha at the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar and stressed the need to initiate political processes, besides the issue of return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley. Ms. Mufti had also urged release of jailed youths on the occasion of the upcoming Id ul Azha.
More than 75 employees have been sacked since amended provisions of Article 311 were introduced in 2020 in J&K. All these employees, according to reports prepared by the security agencies, were allegedly involved in anti-national activities in J&K.
'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 hundreds of employees have been summarily dismissed without even a trial solely based on unproven allegations of so-called terror affiliations,' Ms. Mufti said.
She said 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.
Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed the dismissals as 'inhuman and arbitrary'. 'Invoking a law that can't be challenged, this is despotism. It's the duty of the elected government to stand up to this injustice being periodically meted out to Kashmiri's by dismissing them in such manner and safeguard their rights,' the Mirwaiz said.
J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC) chief Sajad Lone also criticised the L-G administration's policy of terminating employees. '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,' Mr. Lone said.
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