The killing of a non-local labourer and the injury of another in Kulgam’s Kellam area is yet another grim reminder that terrorism remains committed not only to violence, but to fear. When armed men target workers who come to Kashmir to earn a living, they are striking at the most basic idea of normalcy, that ordinary men can move, labour and survive without becoming statistics in a cycle of bloodshed. This attack is not merely another incident to be condemned in routine language. It is an act meant to unsettle society, frighten vulnerable workers, and create the impression that no space in Kashmir is safe from terror. The outrage expressed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is both necessary and expected. His direct engagement with the top security leadership and the instruction to intensify operations against the terrorists underline the seriousness of the moment. But condemnation, however strong, can only be meaningful if it is matched by speed, precision and results on the ground. The perpetrators must be tracked down and brought to justice without delay. Anything less will only embolden those who believe that murder can be used as a political message. What makes such attacks especially sinister is their target. Labourers are not combatants, not participants in conflict, not voices in the political contest over Kashmir’s future. They are workers seeking livelihood, and their presence in the Valley is part of the economic and human bridge that has slowly been rebuilt despite years of uncertainty. To fire upon them is to attack that bridge itself. It is to remind people that terror survives by disrupting trust — trust between communities, trust in public order, trust in the possibility of shared daily life. Kashmir has witnessed many such attempts to push it back into fear. Each time, the response must be stronger than the attempt. Security forces have already cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, but the larger challenge lies beyond one operation. It lies in ensuring that those who plan, shelter and execute such attacks understand that there will be no impunity. The fight against terror cannot afford to be reactive alone; it must be preventive, sustained and uncompromising. At the same time, the administration must send an unmistakable message to non-local workers and all vulnerable civilians that their safety is not negotiable. Swift medical care for the injured, support for the bereaved family, and visible reassurance on the ground are essential. So too is the broader political and social consensus that terror attacks on unarmed labourers will not be allowed to define Kashmir. This attack should awaken a deeper urgency. Terrorists may seek to project strength through cowardice, but the state must answer with resolve, intelligence and accountability. The only fitting reply to such cruelty is not rhetoric, but action that restores confidence, protects lives and denies the killers the space they seek.
