J&K sacks five more govt staff over terror links, count since 2021 rises to 89

Terminations without inquiry under Article 311(2)(c) take total to 89 since 2021, triggering renewed political pushback in the Valley.

• Five J&K govt employees sacked for alleged terror links under Article 311(2)(c)
• Total of 89 employees dismissed since 2021 without departmental inquiry
• Most terminated staff are from lower and mid-level service roles in Kashmir

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The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday terminated five government employees under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution for alleged links with terror outfits, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The action takes the total number of such terminations since 2021 to 89, after the Lieutenant Governor-led administration began invoking the provision to dismiss employees without a departmental inquiry.

Why Article 311(2)(c) matters

Article 311(2)(c) allows the government to dispense with an inquiry if it is deemed not expedient in the interest of state security. The provision has been used repeatedly in Jammu and Kashmir since 2021, drawing criticism from Valley-based political parties that have termed the dismissals arbitrary and disproportionate, particularly as most terminated employees are from Kashmir.

Who were terminated on Tuesday

Among those dismissed was Mohammad Ishfaq, a teacher in the Education Department since 2013. Sources told The Indian Express that Ishfaq was in regular contact with Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Mohammad Amin alias Abu Khubaib, a designated terrorist operating from Pakistan. Officials alleged Ishfaq was assigned an operational role and tasked with executing the killing of a police officer in Doda in early 2022. He was arrested by J&K Police in April 2022 before the alleged plan could be carried out and remains incarcerated.

Another employee, Tariq Ahmad Rah, a lab technician with the Health Department since 2011, was dismissed for alleged links with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Investigators told The Indian Express that Rah facilitated the escape of Hizb commander Amin Baba to Pakistan in 2005. Rah was later arrested under the UAPA and subsequently released on bail.

Bashir Ahmad Mir, an assistant lineman with the Public Health Engineering Department who joined service in 1988, was also terminated. Officials alleged Mir acted as an over-ground worker for Lashkar-e-Toiba in the Gurez area of Bandipora, providing logistical support and shelter to terrorists. He was arrested in September 2021 after police inputs suggested militants were hiding in his house, and was later granted medical bail.

Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a field worker with the Forest Department in Anantnag, was dismissed on allegations of working with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and assisting in the planning and execution of Amin Baba’s escape to Pakistan, investigators told The Indian Express.

The fifth employee, Mohammad Yousf, a driver with the Health and Medical Education Department since 2009, was accused of maintaining regular contact with Pakistan-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operatives. Police intercepted a vehicle on July 20, 2024, in which Yousf was travelling and recovered a pistol, ammunition, a grenade, and Rs 5 lakh in cash, officials claimed.

The pattern since 2021

With Tuesday’s action, 89 government employees have now been dismissed under Article 311(2)(c) since 2021. Most cases, as reported earlier by The Indian Express, involve employees from lower and mid-level service cadres, including teachers, health workers and linemen, roles that place them deep inside local communities.

That staffing profile marks a shift from earlier counter-terror actions that largely focused on elected representatives or political intermediaries, indicating a strategy aimed at disrupting alleged support networks within the administrative machinery itself.