Jammu, Nov 22: Farooq Ahmed Mir, one of the four government workers fired by the Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday, November 22, was appointed despite belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen, a terrorist organisation that is outlawed, and he was paid a salary while incarcerated, according to the charge sheet against him, officials said. Mir, a resident of Kupwara in north Kashmir, was dismissed under Article 311 of the Constitution. He had previously infiltrated in 1990, trained in weapons at camps run by the ISI, and then returned after a year. Prior to his arrest in 1991, he held a high-ranking position within the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen, according to the officials.Security forces said that Mir was detained for two years before being freed in 1993. They also said that shortly after his release, Mir took advantage of his connections to the secessionist-terrorist network to secure his appointment as a Class-IV employee in the department of education. At the time, Jammu and Kashmir was governed by governors. Originally appointed to the education department in 1994, Mir, a resident of the Kupwara district in north Kashmir, was later promoted to the position of teacher in 2007, during the PDP-Congress government’s tenure.“Property and sanity would anticipate that Mir would abstain from engaging in anti-national activities following his appointment to the government. However, he started openly advocating and putting his secessionist beliefs into practise. As a result, he became the most prominent and active member of the secessionist organisation Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH), which is run by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hardline leader of the Hurriyat Conference, the official said. According to the charge sheet, Mir rose to prominence in Kupwara as a fervent disciple and sympathiser of the outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).Given his training as a terrorist in Pakistan and his prominent standing within the secessionist movement, he was endowed with immense authority. His name would inspire fear and awe in the general public as well as the local government, like many other entities of that kind,” an official stated. According to the officials, Mir persisted in inciting secessionists and terrorists, was actively involved in the 2008 Amarnath land row agitation, openly advocating “Jihad” against India, and encouraging young people to join terrorist groups. On November 13, 2009, a case under pertinent sections of the law, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was filed against him at the Kupwara police station.He not only encouraged and prodded young people to enlist in the terrorist organisation in this specific incident, but he also hatched a criminal plot with other secessionist elements to carry out widespread violence in Kupwara. On July 23, 2010, the authorities claimed he had incited, provoked, and incited an unruly mob to commit violent acts. He then led the violent mob into the police guard room at Kupwara district hospital, where he forced entry and set the guard room on fire.According to them, he was finally detained under the terms of the Public Safety Act (PSA) in 2010 and lodged in Central Jail Kot Balwal, Jammu, for a period of six months due to his uncontrollable unlawful behaviour. They also stated that another criminal case had been filed against him and others in police station Kupwara in this regard. The odd and depressing situation is that the department did not discipline him in spite of his repeated arrests and detention under PSA. Intriguingly, he was never reported missing from work despite spending six months in jail on one occasion, the official added, adding that this evidence demonstrates the “influence and penetration of adversary” within the government apparatus.Not changing his ways, they said, Mir was at the vanguard of organising mobs and sparking violence in Kupwara town during the 2016 violent agitation that broke out following the death of Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani’s poster child. The loss of life and property as a result of Mir’s actions was significant. His incitation resulted in numerous young people being killed and numerous others being injured. The charge sheet stated that property, both public and private, valued at several hundred crores was destroyed. It is a well-known fact that thousands of dishonest individuals with ties to the terrorist-secessionist network and even terrorists trained in Pakistan were appointed to positions in government, flagrantly flouting all accepted norms.According to the sources, Mir was fired in accordance with Article 311 of the Indian Constitution, along with Nisar-ul-Hassan, an assistant professor of medicine at SMHS Hospital in Srinagar, constable Abdul Majeed Bhat, and laboratory bearer Abdul Salam Rather in the Higher Education Department.
