The Jammu and Kashmir administration, under the direction of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, has dismissed two government employees from their positions due to their alleged involvement in terrorist activities. The two employees, Khurshid Ahmad Rather, a teacher, and Siyad Ahmad Khan, an assistant stockman in the Sheep Husbandry Department, were terminated from service on Friday.

The dismissals were executed under Article 311(2)(c) of the Indian Constitution. This article allows the government to dismiss employees without initiating an inquiry if it is deemed necessary for the security of the state. Both individuals are currently held in Kupwara district jail.

According to officials, investigations by security and intelligence agencies established the duo's involvement in terror-related activities. Rather is accused of working as an overground worker (OGW) for the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Investigations revealed that Rather allegedly procured and distributed arms and narcotics at the behest of handlers across the border. He was arrested earlier in 2025 after arms were seized in Kupwara. Intelligence inputs from January 25, 2024, indicated that two Pakistani terrorists, aided by four associates including Rather, were involved in smuggling arms in Kupwara.

Khan was apprehended with an AK-47 and is accused of providing shelter and infiltrating terrorists, as well as smuggling arms. Investigators discovered that he was in contact with a handler based in Pakistan, who used him to smuggle arms and narcotics across the Line of Control (LoC) for distribution to active LeT terrorists. Siyad Ahmad Khan was employed in the sheep husbandry department in 2024 and was assigned to receive an infiltrating group from Pakistan and provide them shelter. He was arrested on January 24 last year at the Peerbaba shrine in Keran by a joint team of police and army. An AK assault rifle was recovered from him, which he was carrying for a terrorist.

Officials have described their actions as a "betrayal of national trust". They emphasized the administration's zero-tolerance policy towards terror support networks within the government. Lieutenant Governor Sinha stated that he was satisfied with the facts and circumstances of the cases and that the activities of the two warranted their dismissal from service.

The administration has intensified its crackdown on government employees suspected of having links with militant groups in recent years. Since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the J&K government has terminated the services of 77 government employees for having links with separatists and terror organisations. More than 70 government employees have been dismissed in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years over alleged terror links. In June 2025, Lieutenant Governor Sinha dismissed three government employees, including a police constable, for their terror links.