J&K: Hurriyat chief urges government to reinstate employees fired over ‘terror links’ | India News

Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (Photo credit: X/@MirwaizKashmir)

NEW DELHI: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to stop dismissing employees over alleged terror links and to reinstate those already terminated.
His statement followed the dismissal of two government employees a day earlier by J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha for alleged connections to terrorism.
Farooq criticized the move in a post on X, saying, “Two more government employees terminated by the stroke of a pen without any legal recourse! Families rendered destitute before the onset of harsh winters. Punishment and fear is the hallmark of an authoritarian mindset that has been ruling us here.”

He also called on the elected government, led by chief minister Omar Abdullah, to act. “The elected administration should take immediate measures to stop this injustice and reinstate all the terminated in this unjust manner even without a hearing,” Farooq added.
The dismissed employees were identified as Abdul Rehman Naika, a pharmacist in the health department, and Zahir Abbas, a teacher in the school education department.
Lieutenant governor Sinha used Article 311 (2)(c) of the Constitution to terminate the employees after investigations by law enforcement and intelligence agencies “clearly established their terror links”.
In recent years, the lieutenant governor has invoked Article 311 (2)(c) to terminate several government employees based on similar allegations.