Security has been intensified in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir after a terror outfit issued a threatening letter warning of attacks on Hindu employees working in the Valley. The letter has raised concerns over the safety of Kashmiri Hindu government employees in Jammu and Kashmir.
The United Liberation Council, a shadow terrorist organisation affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, has issued a fresh threatening letter warning of attacks on Kashmiri Hindu employees.
The terror outfit has warned of attacks in both Kashmir and Jammu. Following the threat, security agencies have been alerted and are investigating the matter.
According to intelligence agencies, the United Liberation Council is a shadow front of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The organisation has released a document that is believed to be a hit list of Kashmiri Hindu employees.
In the fresh letter, the United Liberation Council has made public the names and phone numbers of six Kashmiri Hindu employees working under the prime minister's employment package.
According to intelligence sources, the primary purpose behind making the employees' personal details public is to instil fear among them and expose their identities to facilitate targeted attacks. The terrorist organisation has claimed in the threatening note that it is constantly monitoring government departments, particularly the Revenue Department, where some of these employees are posted.
The threatening letter calls for attacks in both the Kashmir Valley and Jammu. The outfit has warned Kashmiri Hindu employees that even if they move from the Kashmir Valley to Jammu, they will not be completely safe. It has threatened that they could be targeted outside Kashmir as well.
The terror organisation has also opposed the administrative facilities provided to migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees, including work-from-home and remote-working arrangements. The organisation has threatened to continue targeting such employees despite these arrangements.
The terror outfit has also warned the lieutenant governor, the director general of police and officials in Delhi. Another part of the note contains threats against local police personnel. It claims that more than 90 per cent of local police personnel live and travel within their respective areas.
On this basis, the terror outfit has threatened to attack police personnel anywhere and at any time. Furthermore, it has threatened immediate and strong retaliation against any action by security forces and local administrations to confiscate or seize the properties of terrorists and their supporters.
Meanwhile, a Kashmiri Pandit organisation on Sunday expressed concern over purported online threats issued by terrorists against Pandits living in the Valley and demanded a probe. It said the threats had "forced many minority community employees" working in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir to "go on leave".
A spokesman for Panun Kashmir said a purported threat communication dated August 7 and issued in the name of the United Liberation Council had "specifically named members of the Kashmiri Pandit community and disclosed their telephone numbers".
Security agencies have been alerted following the threat and are closely examining the personal information made public in the communication. Vigilance has been increased regarding the security of officials and sensitive government establishments. Security for Hindu employees has been strengthened, and surveillance around their residences has also been intensified.
Intelligence agencies consider this a deliberate strategy by terrorist organisations. Publicising the names and phone numbers of employees is allegedly being used to intimidate them. This may be part of a broader conspiracy to discourage Kashmiri Hindu families from returning to the Valley. For the past few years, the government has been making efforts to facilitate the resettlement of Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir.
Attacks on Kashmiri Hindu employees.
- October 2021: Terrorists entered a government school in the Safakadal area of Srinagar and killed Kashmiri Hindu teacher Deepak Chand and Sikh principal Supinder Kaur after checking their identity cards.
- May 12, 2022: Terrorists entered the Tehsildar's office in Chadoora, Budgam district, and shot dead Rahul Bhat, a PM Employment Package employee.
- May 31, 2022: Terrorists shot dead Kashmiri Hindu teacher Rajni Bala outside her school premises in Gopalpora, Kulgam.
- October 2022: Kashmiri Hindu Puran Krishna Bhat was shot dead outside his home in Chaudharigund, Shopian district.
- February 26, 2023: Sanjay Sharma, a Kashmiri Hindu working as a security guard at a bank in the Achan area of Pulwama, was killed by terrorists while he was on his way to the market.
