Jammu and Kashmir LG Terminates Two Government Employees Accused of Links to Lashkar-e-Taiba

22 August-Kolkata, India: On Friday, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, ordered the immediate firing of two government workers from the Kupwara district of north Kashmir for reportedly having ties with the banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Syed Ahmad Khan, an assistant stockman in the Keran Sheep Husbandry Department, and Khurshid Ahmed Rather, an assigned teacher at Karnah, are the workers.

Law Enforcement Agencies on the dismissals

According to Article 311(2)(c) of the Indian Constitution, which permits dismissal of Indian citizens without investigation “in the interest of national security,” the Union Territory’s law enforcement agencies and the lieutenant governor used it. The intelligence and law enforcement organisations gathered tangible evidence that identified the two.

The officials highlighted the issue and stated that the administration includes overground workers (OGWs) and supporters who are enmeshed in government agencies in its ongoing campaign against the infrastructure supporting terrorism.

The authorities terminated 75 government workers after they repealed Article 370 in August 2019 before Friday’s directive.

Three Resignations in June

In June, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, sacked three government workers, including a school teacher, a police constable, and an employee from the Jammu and Kashmir health education department, for their connection with the terror organization.

Malik Ishfaq Naseer, a selection grade police constable at Khahgund, Anantnag; Ajaz Ahmad, a government school teacher in Baflaiz village in Surankote tehsil in Poonch district; and Waseem Ahmad Khan, an assistant in the Jammu and Kashmir health education department and a resident of Diyarwani New Colony, Batamaloo, Srinagar, last terminated their services.