SRINAGAR: In a decisive move underscoring the administration’s zero-tolerance stance on internal threats, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday dismissed two government employees for alleged affiliations with terrorist networks and for compromising national security.
The terminated individuals served in two separate departments — one in the Police Department as an Assistant Communication Operator and the other as a Senior Clerk in the Roads and Buildings Division.
The intelligence and security establishment had been monitoring their actions, uncovering patterns of conduct deemed hostile to the integrity of the state. Their continued engagement in disruptive activities, with direct connections to terrorist elements, prompted the government to invoke Article 311 of the Constitution of India for their immediate dismissal, bypassing standard inquiry procedures due to the gravity of their offenses.
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Feroz Ahmad Mir, serving as an Assistant Communication Operator with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, son of Ghulam Mohammad Mir and a resident of Upper Brein in Srinagar district, was found to be actively liaising with operatives from Pakistan’s intelligence services. Based on actionable intelligence, authorities discovered he was transmitting confidential details concerning the deployment and structure of security installations to foreign handlers. Positioned in a strategically sensitive post, he had privileged access to critical information, yet chose to betray national interests, thereby posing a grave risk to the sovereignty and defense architecture of the country.
The second individual, Ishtiyak Ahmed Malik, employed as a Senior Clerk in the Public Works (Roads and Buildings) Department, is the son of the late Ghulam Rasool Malik Ahmad and hails from Shitroo Larnoo, District Anantnag. He has been identified as a confirmed operative of Jamaat-e-Islami J&K — an organization currently banned — and a terror associate of the Hizbul Mujahideen. As an influential cadre within JeI, Malik was instrumental in expanding the group’s ideological and logistical footprint. He also built a local base of sympathizers who eventually joined ranks as ground operatives of the Hizbul Mujahideen, a group responsible for numerous attacks targeting military forces, political leaders, government functionaries, civilians, and essential infrastructure across the region.
Malik is reported to have covertly assisted terrorist factions by supplying food, shelter, and operational support. His actions were not limited to logistical backing — he reportedly relayed vital security movement details to armed insurgents, aiding them in planning ambushes and evading crackdowns, often resulting in casualties among personnel.
This is not the first time such action has been taken. Earlier in February, the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, terminated the services of three other state employees — a constable, a school teacher, and a forest department worker — also under Article 311(2)(c), for their confirmed links with terrorist outfits. These individuals were identified as Constable Firdous Ahmad Bhat, Teacher Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, and Forest Orderly Nisar Ahmad Khan.
The orders for their dismissal were issued following a high-level security review chaired by the Lieutenant Governor in Jammu. In that meeting, he instructed law enforcement and intelligence agencies to intensify counter-terror efforts, emphasizing not only the elimination of active militants but also the dismantling of the broader support structures — including sympathizers, informants, and instigators embedded within the system.
