Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Valley have been placed on administrative leave until August 25 following a purported threat letter issued by a group linked to Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The letter reportedly named several employees and included their contact details, prompting authorities to take precautionary measures for their safety.

Officials said employees appointed under the Prime Minister’s special employment package have been advised to move to safer locations. Those specifically named in the purported threat letter have been shifted to Jammu, according to official sources. Police have also advised employees who remain in the Valley to avoid attending work until the security situation is assessed.

The threats have renewed concerns among Kashmiri Pandit employees, who have previously been targeted by terrorists. A senior police officer described the decision to keep employees away from their workplaces as a precautionary measure and said authorities were investigating the threats while taking steps to protect those affected.

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Around 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits have received government jobs under the special employment package introduced in 2010 to support the return and rehabilitation of members of the community displaced from the Valley following the outbreak of the secessionist movement in 1990. In 2022, targeted attacks on employees appointed under the package killed five Kashmiri Pandits and triggered months of protests seeking relocation to Jammu.

The latest security concerns come after a policeman was killed in an attack in Anantnag on July 22, followed by an attack targeting migrant workers in Kulgam. Authorities have since intensified security and patrolling around areas inhabited by minority communities and Kashmiri Pandit employees. The annual Amarnath Yatra was also suspended from August 9, with officials citing low pilgrim numbers, weather-related advisories and track repair work.

A wider security crackdown has also been underway in the Valley since July 22, with more than 3,000 suspected overground workers detained, according to police and officials. Authorities have described the detainees as individuals suspected of covertly assisting terrorist groups. Police have also maintained that local recruitment into terrorist organisations has fallen sharply, while the latest security measures reflect heightened concern over potential threats to vulnerable communities and government employees.

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