SRINAGAR (Kashmir English): In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian authorities have intensified a sweeping crackdown on doctors who obtained MBBS degrees from Pakistan and Bangladesh, in what observers describe as an attempt to malign neighbouring Muslim countries under the guise of combating “white-collar militancy.”
According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian intelligence agencies have placed dozens of young Kashmiri doctors — who completed or are pursuing medical studies in Pakistan and Bangladesh — under surveillance following the so-called “busting” of an alleged terror module.
Officials admitted that not a single Kashmiri doctor’s name has surfaced in the investigation so far, yet surveillance and profiling continues, raising concerns of deliberate targeting.
Analysts said the campaign fits a wider pattern of India’s coercive strategy in the UN-recognized disputed territory, where education, travel, and professional advancement of Kashmiris are increasingly criminalized.
The profiling of foreign-educated doctors, they warn, aims to discourage Kashmiri youth from studying abroad — especially in Pakistan and Bangladesh — and to fuel the narrative that all links with these countries are “suspicious.”
Officials, quoted by Indian media, alleged without evidence that some past candidates were “recommended” by Hurriyat leaders years ago, reviving old claims to justify current measures.
They further described Pakistan and Bangladesh as “hostile countries,” signalling a political motive behind the sweeping scrutiny.
Crackdown continues across India, IIOJK
The crackdown, which follows coordinated raids across Jammu, Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, has also been used to promote unverified allegations that Kashmiri medical professionals could be “radicalized” upon return.
Rights groups say this rhetoric mirrors previous attempts to brand Kashmiri students—particularly those abroad—as potential threats, thereby restricting their global mobility.
Observers note that the recent hysteria around foreign-educated Kashmiri doctors is part of India’s larger attempt to shift attention from human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and to discredit Pakistan and Bangladesh internationally.
The move has generated fear among Kashmiri families whose children are studying medicine 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 investigations remain inconclusive.
Meanwhile, Indian forces continue raids on civilian homes and workplaces across the occupied territory, intensifying pressure on professionals and youth already living under siege-like conditions.
