Mehbooba Mufti questions ex-servicemen appointments amid rising youth unemployment in Kashmir

May 19, 2025 by News Desk

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Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has criticised the Jammu Kashmir administration’s move to appoint 4,000 ex-servicemen for securing vital installations, calling it a misplaced priority at a time when unemployment among the region’s youth has reached alarming levels.

In a post on X, Mehbooba said she had written to Omar Abdullah, vice president of the National Conference, urging him to reconsider the decision taken by the government he is part of. “While I hold the utmost respect and gratitude for our ex-servicemen, we mustn’t & cannot overlook the mounting crisis of unemployment afflicting youth in Jammu Kashmir whose numbers have now crossed into lakhs,” she wrote.

Calling the soaring unemployment not just an economic issue but a “social emergency,” the PDP chief said the lack of opportunities is driving many young Kashmiris into drug addiction and, in some cases, even suicide. “We must come to their rescue by being more mindful of their future,” she added.

Her remarks came in response to a government decision to approve a proposal from the Sainik Welfare Board to mobilise 4,000 ex-servicemen volunteers to guard critical infrastructure across all 20 districts of the Union Territory. According to the plan, these former military personnel will be deployed to protect power stations, bridges, government offices, and other vulnerable sites. Of the 4,000, at least 435 individuals are reported to possess licensed personal weapons.

The initiative is being pitched by the administration as a way to strengthen community-based security by harnessing the experience and discipline of former soldiers. However, Mehbooba Mufti’s intervention signals growing concern that such appointments come at the cost of ignoring a generation of unemployed youth in Kashmir.