Hurriyat Conference asks Omar-led govt to reinstate employees fired over 'terror links'

Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's remark came a day after two government employees were dismissed from service by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for alleged terror links.

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday asked the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir to take measures to stop the "injustice" of dismissing employees over alleged terror links and reinstate all those who have been terminated so far.

His remark came a day after two government employees were dismissed from service by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for alleged terror links.

"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," Farooq said in a post on X.

He also called upon the elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Union territory to reinstate all the employees who have been terminated "in an unjust manner".

"The elected administration should take immediate measures to stop this injustice and reinstate all the terminated in this unjust manner even without a hearing," the separatist leader added.

The two government employees dismissed from service were identified as Abdul Rehman Naika, a pharmacist in the health department, and Zahir Abbas, a teacher in the school education department.

The lieutenant governor invoked Article 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution to terminate the employees after investigations by law enforcement and intelligence agencies "clearly established their terror links".

Under the Article, Since has ordered the termination of several government employees over the past few years.