Five government employees in Jammu and Kashmir have been sacked after they were found to be supporting terrorists. The action, sources said, is part of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's crackdown against terror associates planted within the government machinery to weaken it and jeopardise national security. Since 2021, 85 such government employees have been sacked, the sources said.
The five employees who have been sacked include Mohd Ishfaq, a teacher, Tariq Ahmad Shah, a lab technician, Bashir Ahmad Mir, an assistant lineman, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a forest department field worker and Mohd Yousf, a driver.
Ishfaq, an investigation has found, was working for Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba and was tasked to kill a police officer in 2022. He was arrested before he could execute the plan. The probe revealed he exploited his position as a teacher to radicalise youth.
"He used his influence to spread radical ideology, motivate youth towards terrorism to disrupt peace and progress of J&K. Ishfaq, being a teacher with unhindered access to young and impressionable minds was a critical asset of LeT. We have received inputs that despite being in jail, Ishfaq continues to indulge in radical activities by indoctrinating jail inmates," a source said.
Tariq, working as a lab technician with the Health Department, came under the influence of terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen right from a very young age. "One of his relatives (Uncle) Amin baba alias Abid was also Divisional Commander of HM from 1998-2005. According to investigators, Tariq's terror link emerged during a State Investigation Agency (SIA) probe in escape of Amin Baba to Pakistan in 2005. Investigation revealed that Tariq facilitated the stay of Amin Baba in Anantnag and later arranged his transportation to Attari-Wagah border," the source said.
"Tariq ensured exfiltration of a wanted terrorist across an international border. Due to his conspiracy, Amin Baba successfully crossed over to Pakistan and is currently operating from there for carrying out terrorist activities in India," the source added.
Bashir Ahmad Mir, an Assistant Lineman with Public Health Engineering department, was an active Overground Worker of Lashkar, an investigation has found. "Bashir was covertly facilitating terrorist activities in the hinterland of Gurez since long by guiding the movement of terrorists, providing logistical support, sharing information on movement of security forces and providing shelter to terrorists. His role to came to light in September 2021 when police received inputs that two LeT terrorists were hiding in Bashir's house. Anti-terror ops was launched and both the terrorists were neutralised in Bashir's house. Two AK-47 and a large cache of ammunition was also recovered. He was arrested and later given medical bail by the court," the source said.
The source said individuals like Bashir are embedded deep within the government machinery, drawing salaries from the Indian exchequer and serving the enemy.
Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a field worker with forest department, was actively working for Hizbul Mujahideen and helped Tariq to plan the escape of Hizbul commander Amin Baba to Pakistan. Farooq was also
informally working as a personal assistant of a former MLA with ties to Hizbul, sources said. "He used his government identity card to avoid security checks and dropped Amin Baba at international border. In this conspiracy, the former MLA provided an official government Gypsy with his personal security officers and driver. Farooq was arrested in 2024 and later got bail in 2025 from the court. But his terror activities haven't stopped. He continues to maintain contact with terrorists and their sympathisers," the source said.
Yousf, a driver with the Health and Medical Education Department, was in regular contact with terrorists, particularly Pakistan-based Hizbul terrorist Bashir Ahmad Bhat.
On Bhat's directions, Yousf established links with Hizbul cadres and operatives sitting in Pakistan and was entrusted with core tasks, including procurement of arms and ammunition and transporting funds, the investigation found.
In July 2024, police stopped a vehicle in which Yousf and his associate Eashan Hamid were travelling and recovered a pistol, ammunition, and Rs 5 lakh in cash.
"During the sustained interrogation, Yousf revealed that he received the consignment on the direction of his Pakistani handler and it was supposed to be delivered to a terrorist. Yousf further revealed that he was actively involved in providing operational logistics to terrorists using his official position as hospital Driver. He was also part of a network which provided phones to jailed terrorists to establish communication with Pakistan-based terrorists," the sources added.
