Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin’s sons cannot be held responsible for their father’s alleged terror links, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti said today.

“I’m not supporting anyone. You can’t hold a child responsible for actions of his father unless and until you have proof. These are not 11 people, they’ve sacked 20-25 this year,” the PDP chief said, according to news agency ANI. 

Syed Shakeel Yusuf and Syed Shahid Yousuf were among 11 people sacked from the Jammu and Kashmir administration over alleged terror links. Shakeel is a medical assistant at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, while Shahid is an employee of the Agriculture department. Both were arrested earlier for receiving terror funds. All five sons of Syed Salahuddin hold government jobs in the Valley.

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The employees were sacked for allegedly working for various terror groups, officials had said on Saturday.

Earlier in a tweet on Sunday, Mufti had written, “GOI continues disempowering people of J&K in garb of pseudo nationalism by trampling the constitution that ought to be upheld. Abrupt dismissal of 11 gov(ernment) employees on flimsy grounds is criminal. All policy decisions vis a vis J&K are taken with the sole objective of punishing Kashmiris.”

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The government had claimed that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had tracked the brothers receiving, collecting and transferring money through hawala for the Hizb.

Among those dismissed on Sunday was a  teacher  Raziyah Sultan, who was appointed by the government on compassionate grounds after her lawyer father was kidnapped and killed by unknown gunmen.

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“I have never been involved in any undesirable activities and never been in any unlawful activities,” Raziyah said. She says hasn’t been provided any details about it except the order of dismissal.

 This is the second tranche of dismissals in recent days. Three people were sacked in May for their alleged involvement in terror activities.