Kashmiri Pandit Employees Sent On Leave After Terror Threat

Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit employees have been sent on administrative leave till 25th of August following a purported threat letter issued by a group linked to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Fear gripped Kashmiri Pandit employees after a purported threat letter naming some employees and listing their contact details was circulated recently.

Official sources say all the employees appointed under Prime Minister's special employment package have been advised to shift to safer places. All those who have been named in the threat letter have been safely shifted to Jammu, sources said.

"After the threats, police have advised us not to attend work, and those who are still living in the Valley have been asked not to come out of their homes," said Amit Koul, a Kashmiri Pandit employee. 

Police said they are investigating threats and taking necessary security measures to ensure the safety of employees.

"It's a precautionary measure. We are investigating these threats and taking necessary steps to ensure everyone's safety," said a senior police officer.

Around 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits have been given government jobs under the Prime Minister's special employment package rolled out in 2010. It was aimed at facilitating return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri pandits displaced from their homeland after the outbreak of the secessionist movement  in 1990.

In 2022, terrorists carried out targeted attacks on these employees, killing five Kashmiri pandits. This led to massive protests by PM package employees for seven months demanding their transfer and posting at Jammu. While the government refused to post these employees in Jammu, they were shifted and posted at safer locations in Srinagar and other major towns of the Valley. 

After a recent attack in Anantnag on July 22, in which a policeman was killed, and a subsequent attack on migrant workers in Kulgam, there are security concerns that terrorists may try to carry out more  attacks, including on minorities in the Valley. Officials said the security and patrolling around the areas inhabited by minorities and pandit employees in the Valley has been intensified.  

Amid security concerns, Amarnath Yatra was also curtailed and suspended weeks before scheduled culmination of the annual pilgrimage. Officials have cited low footfall of pilgrims, weather advisory and repair work of tracks as reasons for suspending Yatra from August 9.

A major security crackdown has been launched since July 22 in the Valley in which over 3,000 suspects have been detained. Some estimates suggest the number of arrests is much higher. Police have described the arrested persons as Over Ground Workers (OGWs), a term used for those covertly helping terrorists. While, police have said that the number of local recruitments into terrorist groups has almost come to zero, the mass arrests of "OGWs" has confused many about complexities of the situation on the ground.