On June 3, 2025, Lt.Governor Maoj Sinha enforced an order for the latest dismissal of three Government employees under subclause C of Article 311 of the Constitution, which permits the removal of a civil servant without formal enquiry, or an opportunity for the person charged to respond. Malik Ishfaq Naseer from Anantnag, Aijaz Ahmed from Poonch and Waseem Ahmed Khan from Srinagar are those dismissed and currently lodged in jail, for “terror links with the banned terrorist outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.”
The General Administration Department of the Government of Jammu & Kashmir, issued the warrant for dismissal, attested by the Lt.Governor. The order testifies that the governor is satisfied under the subclause C [Clause 2, Article 311] and in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold an enquiry into the case. Senior security officials reported that all the three dismissed were “terror collaborators” involved “in logistics, arms smuggling, aiding terror operations against security officers, civilians, and collecting and distributing arms and ammunition to terrorists.”
Officials said that the dismissal is part of the ongoing crackdown on the terror infrastructure, overground workers and sympathisers embedded within Government institutions. Since 2020, after Manoj Sinha presided over the office, 75 dismissals of government employees have been reported. The opposition on the matter questioned the Government’s silence since hundreds have been sacked since 2019.
“Since 2019 hundreds of employees have been summarily dismissed without even a trial solely based on unproven allegations of so called terror affiliations. While this iron fist approach may create a facade of normalcy genuine sustainable peace can’t be achieved by inflicting suffering on people. Unfortunately the elected government watches completely unmoved like a mute bystander,” Mehbooba Mufti wrote on her X handle.
As per the information shared by the security officials, Malik Ishfaq Naseer has been under surveillance for his alleged support to LeT, after his brother, a militant with LeT was killed in 2018. He was investigated for arms smuggling in 2021. The official claimed that Naseer was involved in identifying safe drop locations for arms, explosives, and narcotics, and sharing GPS coordinates with Pakistani handlers.
Aijaz Ahmed, a teacher since 2011, was arrested in November 2023 for “arms smuggling, disseminating the Hizbul Mujahideen propaganda, and actively helping terror outfits in procuring arms and narcotics in the Poonch region.”
Waseem Ahmad Khan, a junior assistant at the Government Medical College in Srinagar, was allegedly found to be a part of the assassination of Journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his security personnel in June 2018. He was arrested in 2018, in connection with a terror attack in Srinagar’s Batmaloo region, the officer said.
The administration has tightened the police verification before government recruitment in recent years, also after the Ministry of Home Affairs ordered that no family members of militants or sympathisers will be recruited into Government service.
“This has reduced internal sabotage risks and instilled fear among potential sympathisers,” said a senior official.
