Srinagar, Aug 11: Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit employees appointed under the Prime Minister’s special employment package have been sent on leave until August 25 and advised to move to safer locations amid heightened security concerns in the Valley, according to reports.
Reports said employees whose names appeared in a purported threat communication circulated recently have already been shifted safely to Jammu, while other PM package employees have also been advised to relocate temporarily to safer places.
The move comes days after a purported threat letter naming Kashmiri Pandit employees and carrying their contact details surfaced in Jammu and Kashmir. The communication was attributed to an outfit calling itself the United Liberation Council (ULC). Police had confirmed receiving the communication and said an investigation was underway.
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Security measures have since been strengthened around areas inhabited by minorities and Kashmiri Pandit employees, with increased patrolling and surveillance being maintained in vulnerable locations.
The latest precautionary measures come against the backdrop of heightened security concerns in the Valley following a series of targeted attacks in recent weeks.
On July 22, a police personnel was killed in a targeted attack in Anantnag. Subsequently, two non-local labourers were killed in an attack in Kulgam, further raising concerns over the security of vulnerable communities and migrant workers.
The latest threat communication has emerged against the backdrop of an intensified security crackdown in the Valley. Following the July 22 killing of a policeman, authorities demolished the houses of some alleged militants and detained more than 3,000 people in a widening crackdown. The subsequent emergence of the threat letter has added another layer to the security concerns surrounding Kashmiri Pandit employees.
The sequence has raised concerns over a possible cycle of targeted violence, retaliatory security action and renewed threats, although authorities have not publicly established a direct link between the crackdown and the threat communication.
The security concerns have also had a bearing on the annual Amarnath Yatra, which was suspended on August 9, weeks before its scheduled culmination. Officials cited low pilgrim footfall, adverse weather advisories and repair work along the tracks among the reasons for curtailing the pilgrimage.
PM package and earlier protests
Around 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits have been provided government employment under the Prime Minister’s special employment package introduced in 2010 as part of efforts to facilitate the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits who had migrated from the Valley following the outbreak of militancy in 1990.
The employees came under renewed security threat in 2022, when militants carried out a series of targeted attacks against members of the community. Five Kashmiri Pandits were killed in such attacks that year.
The attacks triggered prolonged protests by PM package employees, who sought their transfer and posting in Jammu, citing security concerns. The government did not agree to a blanket transfer to Jammu, but subsequently relocated many employees to relatively safer locations in Srinagar and other major towns of the Valley.
The latest decision to place employees on administrative leave and advise them to move to safer locations is therefore being viewed against the backdrop of those earlier security concerns and the renewed threat communication.
Authorities have maintained that the immediate priority is to ensure the safety of employees while investigations into the latest threat are underway.
