Representtaive image.
Credit: PTI photo
Srinagar: In the first instance of government employees being terminated over alleged terrorism links since Omar Abdullah assumed office as Chief Minister, the Jammu and Kashmir government has dismissed two workers under Article 311 of the Indian Constitution.
This provision allows for the dismissal of employees whose actions are deemed harmful to national security, bypassing the usual procedural inquiry.
Official sources confirmed that the terminated employees are Abdul Rehman Naik, a pharmacist in the Health Department, and Zahir Abbas, a teacher in the School Education Department. Both employees are alleged to have links with the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.
Article 311, which was extended to Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of its special status in August 2019, allows for the termination of employees without a formal inquiry, provided their retention in public service is prejudicial to the security of the state. Dismissed employees can only approach a High Court for relief under this provision.
So far on the recommendations of the committee, over 70 government employees, including two sons of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahudin and tainted deputy superintendent of J&K police, Davinder Singh, who was charge sheeted by the NIA for providing support to the Hizbul, have been dismissed from the service.
The ruling National Conference party had previously stated in its election manifesto that it would review the cases of employees dismissed over the past five years.
Omar Abdullah, the party leader, expressed concern about the fairness of these terminations, stating, “Whether the allegations against the terminated employees are true or untrue, they should have been given due space to prove their innocence. It is unfortunate, but this matter should be revisited as the regime changes in J&K.”
Earlier this month, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), urged the government to reinstate the terminated employees. She emphasized that the “abrupt dismissal” of government workers without due process since 2019 has left many families devastated and called for a review of the decisions.