Srinagar: Indian authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have launched an intensified crackdown on doctors who obtained MBBS degrees from Pakistan and Bangladesh, a move observers say is aimed at criminalizing foreign education and maligning neighbouring Muslim countries under the guise of countering so-called ¬white-collar militancy.®
Indian intelligence agencies have placed dozens of Kashmiri doctors³either graduates or current students in Pakistan and Bangladesh³under surveillance following the claimed ¬busting® of an alleged terror module. Officials have admitted that not a single Kashmiri doctors name has surfaced in the investigation so far, yet intrusive profiling and monitoring continue, raising serious concerns of deliberate targeting.
Analysts state that this campaign fits a broader pattern of Indias coercive strategy in the UN-recognized disputed territory, where the education, travel and professional growth of Kashmiris are increasingly being criminalized. They warn that profiling foreign-educated doctors aims to deter Kashmiri youth from pursuing studies abroad³especially in Pakistan and Bangladesh³and to reinforce the political narrative that any such academic link is ¬suspicious.®
Officials quoted by Indian media alleged³without evidence³that some past candidates were ¬recommended® by Hurriyat leaders many years ago, resurrecting old, unproven claims to justify present measures. They further described Pakistan and Bangladesh as ¬hostile countries,® underscoring political motives behind the sweeping scrutiny.
The crackdown follows coordinated raids across Jammu, Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, along with unverified insinuations that Kashmiri medical professionals could be ¬radicalized® while studying abroad. Rights groups note that this rhetoric mirrors earlier attempts to stigmatize Kashmiri students pursuing overseas education, thereby restricting their global mobility.
Observers highlight that the recent hysteria targeting foreign-educated Kashmiri doctors forms part of Indias broader effort to divert attention from human rights abuses in the occupied territory and to discredit Pakistan and Bangladesh internationally. The campaign has sparked fear among Kashmiri families whose children are enrolled in medical programmes in these countries.
Despite sensational claims in Indian media, officials have confirmed that no evidence has emerged linking Kashmiri MBBS graduates from Pakistan or Bangladesh to any ¬terror module,® and the investigations remain inconclusive.
Meanwhile, Indian forces continue to raid civilian homes and workplaces across the occupied territory, further intensifying pressure on professionals and youth living under siege-like conditions.