J-K admin selectively terminating Kashmiri employees from service: Mufti

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday slammed the Jammu and Kashmir administration for selectively terminating Kashmiri employees from service by labelling them as "terrorist sympathisers".

Mehbooba's reaction comes a day after the Jammu and Kashmir Bank sacked its chief manager Sajad Ahmad Bazaz for allegedly being a "threat to the security of the state".

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the former chief minister wrote, "Selectively terminating Kashmiri employees by wrongfully dubbing them as terrorist sympathisers & pro ISI has been normalised."

"The accused isn't given a chance to prove his innocence with the government acting as judge & jury. This hooliganism is meant to frighten Kashmiris into submission," she added.

In an order on Saturday, the managing director of the bank stated that "after considering the facts and circumstances of the case contained in the report received from credible agencies that the activities of Mr Sajad Ahmad Bazaz...posted at Internal Communication and Marketing Department are such as to warrant his dismissal from service under Rule/Provision 12.29 in OSM (Officers Service Manual)."

"The order maintains that in the interest of the security of that state, it is not expedient to hold an inquiry into the case of Mr Sajad Ahmad Bazaz ..."

The Jammu and Kashmir government is the majority shareholder in the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.