Srinagar: The moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Monday asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to revoke the recent dismissal of 11 employees or give them a "fair chance" to challenge the charges levelled against them. The administration has sacked the 11 employees, including sons of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin who has been designated a global terrorist by the US, for allegedly working for various terror groups, officials said on Saturday. The Hurriyat expresses strong dismay and denounces the dismissal of 11 government employees by the authorities. More than twenty people have so far been removed from services in this whimsical manner, contrary to all norms of justice and fairness, under the guise of being a threat to the security of the state, a Hurriyat spokesman said.
He claimed that such "arbitrary actions" have led to "fear" among those also who are still employed as they are uncertain about their future. The spokesman alleged that in times of the coronavirus pandemic when economic hardships faced by the people are on the rise, the rulers of the land are least thoughtful of the consequences such harsh actions will have on those dismissed and their families. We ask the government to revoke this authoritarian order or give those dismissed a fair chance to challenge the charges if any, levelled against them, the Hurriyat spokesman said.
Read: Age 48 or 29 years in service: J&K Govt can now send employees home in the public interest
Mainstream parties like the National Conference and the PDP have also criticised the dismissal of the employees. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that a child cannot be held responsible for actions of his father without proof, alleging that 'witch-hunting, criminalisation of dissent is taking the country back.' She also alleged that the number of employees sacked was underreported at 11, stating that the actual figures are between 20 to 25.
"I'm not supporting anyone. You can't hold a child responsible for the actions of his father unless and until you have proof. These are not 11 people, they've sacked 20-25 this year," said Mufti commenting on her tweet on the dismissal of 11 government employees. "Government of India continues disempowering people of J-K in the garb of pseudo nationalism by trampling the Constitution that ought to be upheld. The abrupt dismissal of 11 government employees on flimsy grounds is criminal," she added. Targeting the central government for its policies she said that all "policy decisions that are taken with the sole objective of punishing Kashmiris." She had further said, "I've said this, again and again, you can capture a man but not an idea. You've to address the idea, as Vajpayee ji did. Witch-hunting, criminalisation of dissent is taking our nation back."
Read: Jammu, Kashmir have separate issues: Abdullah on party unit's proposal to delimitation panel
PTI
