Srinagar, April 14, KDC: The US-based Kashmir Care Foundation (KCF) has announced a total suspension of its activities in Jammu and Kashmir, citing the need for mandatory clearances from “competent authorities” before resuming operations. This move follows a wave of disassociations by multiple universities in the Union Territory, even as a social media post highlighting the organization’s recent interaction with the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, remains online.
The announcement comes close on the heels of decisions by four prominent institutions in Kashmir—the University of Kashmir, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Kashmir, and Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences—to terminate Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed with the US-based NGO.
Official sources indicate the crackdown was triggered by intelligence agencies flagging KCF’s activities. The UT administration has reportedly taken a “serious view” of the fact that these academic agreements were finalized without the mandatory security and intelligence clearances required for foreign entities.
Security officials expressed concerns that the platforms created for STEM workshops and seminars could potentially be utilized as “soft channels” to disseminate specific ideological narratives. A detailed probe is currently underway to determine how multiple state institutions entered into these formal partnerships without exhaustive vetting of the NGO’s credentials.
The Kashmir Care Foundation, founded in 2025 and headquartered in Atlanta, describes itself as a non-profit, non-religious, and apolitical organization. Within a short span, it had secured institutional tie-ups across key sectors of higher education and healthcare in Kashmir, positioning itself as a platform for knowledge exchange and global academic linkages.
Despite the widespread cancellations and the KCF’s own suspension, a digital footprint of the organization’s high-level engagement remains active. As of April 14, a social media post dated April 11 from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, remains online. The post details “strategic discussions” between CSIR-IIIM Director Zabeer Ahmed and KCF representative Altaf Lal regarding pharmaceutical innovation.
Notably, the post has been further amplified through reposts by senior functionaries and scientists of the institute and remains in circulation even as the organization at the center of the engagement has suspended its activities and faces official scrutiny. (KDC)
