Terminating Government Employees in the garb of national security is not a new trend in Kashmir Valley. Government employees were even terminated prior to armed militancy in Valley,” this was stated by senior separatist leader Professor Abdul Gani Bhat who told news agency CNS that in the name of ‘so-called national interest’ the Government of India can go to any extent.“In 1986 at least 9 government employees including professors and engineers were terminated when they showed resentment against the desecration of Babri Masjid. I was one among the terminated employees,” Bhat said.“Kashmir was peaceful and no militancy was there. The issue of Babri Masjid forced Muslims to took to streets while in Jammu people from majority community pressurized Jammu Kashmir Government to take action against the Kashmiri leaders spearheading the protests. The then Governor Jagmohan and Chief Minister G.M.Shah issued termination orders in favour of seven employees including me, Dr Ghulam Qadir Sofi alias Turabi, Javaid Ahmed Mir and others,” he said.Bhat said that the government action brought employees under one platform and Muslim Employees Conference was formed. “The MEC played a key role in making people politically conscious and to punish its leader’s government terminated Professor Muhammad Ashraf Saraf and Ghulam Rasool Baccha.”Another senior separatist leader Javaid Ahmed Mir who had been also terminated in 1986 for his affiliation with Islamic Students League told CNS that suppressing people and terminating employees is an old tool in the hands of government. “In 1986, the government thought that the Kashmir Movement will die down with these measures, but it didn’t happen. Similarly this time again the government will get nothing by terminating poor employees. Kashmir is an issue that needs to be resolved and till then peace will not prevail here and people will continue to hit the roads,” Mir said. (CNS)