Fresh threat letter targets PM package employees in Kashmir

A fresh threat letter, the sixth in the last 40 days, targeting Prime Minister’s Package employees in Jammu and Kashmir, featuring photographs of protesting staff and an image of an AK-47, has once again created a flutter in the security establishment in the Kashmir valley.

The communication, dated September 10 and attributed to an outfit calling itself the United Liberation Council (ULC), has once again attempted to intimidate the PM Package employees. Speaking on behalf of affected employees, Rakesh Handoo, in a post on X, said that the PM Package employees had faced repeated threats in recent weeks, but no arrests have been made so far.

He said the latest message had raised the intimidation to a new level by using photographs of employees who had recently protested for safer accommodation and security. Some of those images, he said, were of staff whose interviews had been shown on television a day earlier.

The threat letter branded PM Package employees “white-collar terrorist migrant Pandits” and “MHA-backed protesters,” claimed to possess details of their whereabouts, families and daily movements, and warned that they could be struck “at will.”

“This is not merely a threat on paper. When photographs of employees are circulated with a gun image and the perpetrators claim to possess information about their whereabouts, families and daily activities, it raises extremely serious questions about their safety and the possible misuse of personal data,” Handoo said. He urged the Jammu and Kashmir Police and other security agencies to take immediate cognisance of the communication, register a case under relevant law and identify those behind it. He also called for an immediate security assessment of employees whose photographs appeared in the message.

“The government must urgently assess the threat perception of these employees and take whatever security measures are necessary to protect them. Waiting for an actual attack before acting would be a grave mistake,” he said.

Handoo sought a thorough inquiry into the alleged circulation of personal information of PM Package employees on social media and other digital platforms. “If individuals with terror links are claiming to possess phone numbers, addresses, family details, movements and other personal information of employees, the source of this information must be investigated. Any unauthorised access, leakage or circulation of such data cannot be ignored,” he said.

He also asked the authorities to speed up the allotment of secured transit accommodation to staff still living in vulnerable locations, particularly those who have made repeated representations and joined protests.

“The employees have consistently asked for secure accommodation so that they can discharge their duties without living under constant fear. The government must address this concern on priority and ensure that vulnerable employees are shifted to properly secured facilities,” he said.

Handoo said the latest message should not be seen in isolation. “These threats are intended not only to intimidate individual employees but also to create fear among an entire community of employees who returned to Kashmir under a government employment package,” he said.

He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the J&K Director General of Police and other senior officials to intervene. “Our employees are not enemies of the people. They are government employees trying to perform their duties in their own homeland. They should not be forced to choose between their livelihood and their personal safety,” he said.

All PM package employees forum, Kashmir responded in a post on X, saying

“We are not afraid of threats or intimidation. We are the rightful sons and daughters of Kashmir, and no one can dictate where we should live in our own homeland. We stand with courage, dignity and peace. India is our country”.