At Hablishi, a village two kilometres ahead of South Kashmir’s Kilam area, where two migrant workers were shot dead by terrorists on Friday, the road is blocked by armoured vehicles of J&K Police and the Army. No one is allowed to enter or exit.
Almost immediately after the attack on Friday evening, a joint team of police, Army and paramilitary forces had cordoned off the village and launched massive search operations.
The targeted killing, the first attack on seasonal migrant workers since October 2024, has sent the security apparatus into overdrive. Across the Valley, security forces have intensified surveillance, expanding their footprint and stepping up vigilance around the areas where migrants live and work.
The attack has prompted an urgent security rethink, with Lt Governor Manoj Sinha convening a high-level meeting of the security establishment to review the situation and chart the response.
Hablishi and Kilam, twin villages in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, are dotted with nearly a dozen brick kilns tucked away in secluded pockets away from residential areas. Hundreds of labourers from North India, mainly Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, arrive every year to work at these kilns, living in modest accommodations or on-site. Friday’s attack took place at one such brick kiln.
Police officers say they are yet to establish who carried out the attack, but maintain that only the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) retains a limited presence in the Valley. Officers say they are also investigating the anonymous social media posts in which The Resistance Front (TRF), which police say is a shadow group of the Lashkar, has claimed responsibility for the killings.
“Most attacks of this nature in recent years have been carried out by the TRF, and in many cases they claimed responsibility publicly,” said a police officer. “There are inputs that (Lashkar commander) Latif (Bhat) was involved in the attack, but we are investigating all possible angles.”
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Police sources also said this is a typical TRF strategy. “When the government or political leadership indicates things are getting better, they strike. Two aspects are unique to their attacks: one, they are targeted at people from outside Jammu and Kashmir; two, these attacks are generally below a certain critical level, but keep the fire simmering,” said a source, who did not wish to be identified.
The Amarnath Yatra is halfway through, and the government has been keen to make it a benchmark for spiritual tourism. “We will respond to such terror attacks with full force,” the source said, adding that they have further tightened security and increased vigilance.
According to police sources, Deepak Ratre, 24, and Bhupinder Bhaina, 25, were sitting near the brick kiln, outside the sheds where they stayed, when a man approached them. The wife of one of the victims is learnt to have told police that the man, who had a bag with him, engaged them in conversation. After some time, the women went inside, and soon after, gunshots rang out. The man, they said, had escaped.
On Saturday, Lt Governor Sinha chaired a security review meeting attended by top officials, including Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and the Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat.
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“He directed the top security brass to conduct a comprehensive review of Standard Operating Procedures established to protect the labourers from outside Jammu and Kashmir,” an official release issued by the Lok Bhawan said. “He also directed that the employers must ensure all workers from other states and UTs are provided insurance and that their details are registered with local police and district authorities.”
He also directed police to “intensify precise, high-impact, anti-terror operations to neutralise terrorists”. Across the Valley, searches, frisking and checking of vehicles have been intensified.
While there are no official figures for the number of migrant seasonal labourers working in Kashmir, estimates put the figure at anything between three and five lakh during the peak season, which lasts from April to October. These workers are largely employed in the construction or agriculture sectors, brick kilns, and small trade.
In the last six years, over 20 non-local workers were killed and another 20 injured in terror attacks across Kashmir.
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While Friday’s attack in Kulgam has caused anxiety among migrant workers, they say it is too early to decide whether to leave the Valley. “Yesterday’s attack has brought back some fears,” says Vikramjit Singh, a carpenter from Amritsar in Punjab. “We will stay for now. We will keep a close watch, and if something happens again, we may think about leaving Kashmir.”
For Mithilesh Kumar, a construction worker from Bihar, leaving the Valley is not an option. “I have been coming to Kashmir for 15 years now. I have lived here in the most difficult times,” he says. “If we leave, our families will die of hunger.”
