As the death toll in the Kulgam terror attack rose to two on Saturday (August 1, 2026), Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor, Manoj Sinha, asked security agencies “to conduct a comprehensive review of the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) established to protect labourers from outside in J&K”.

Targeting the Centre over its “failure to contain terrorism”, J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary demanded a high-level probe into the killings, while questioning the Centre’s peace narrative.

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Suspected terrorists, in a targeted killing, fired upon two non-local labourers from Chhattisgarh on Friday (July 31) evening in Kulgam’s Kellam area. The attackers managed to flee after the attack under the cover of darkness. 

One labourer, identified as Deepak Ratray, 24, was declared dead in a hospital late Friday evening. Bopinder Kumar, 28, also from Chhattisgarh, died during treatment. Both the deceased, who worked as labourers at a brick kiln, were cremated in Kulgam on Saturday afternoon under tight security arrangements.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the incident as “dastardly” and announced ex gratia relief of ₹10 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. This will be in addition to immediate assistance of ₹6 lakh each to be provided by the district administration.

Mr. Sinha said the J&K administration and the entire nation stand with the families.

Valley on alert

The attack, which is the second targeted attack in two weeks, has the security apparatus on tenterhooks in Kashmir. Frisking and search of vehicles were intensified across the Valley, especially on the Amarnath Yatra routes of Pahalgam and Baltal. Meanwhile, Mr. Sinha handed over an appointment letter to the son of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, who was killed in a similar attack on July 22, under the government’s compassionate appointment scheme.  

The J&K L-G chaired a high-level security review meeting in Srinagar, which was attended by top security officials. A Lok Bhavan spokesperson said all the Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) were directed by the L-G “to conduct a comprehensive review of the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) established to protect labourers from outside in J&K”.

The L-G directed the employers to provide insurance cover to non-local labourers and said their details should be registered with local police and district authorities. “We must intensify precise, high-impact anti-terror operations to neutralise the terrorists,” Mr. Sinha said.

‘Failed experiment’

Commenting on the sudden spurt in terror attacks, Mr. Choudhary said the region’s Statehood was ended, and Article 370 of the Constitution abrogated “on the promise that terrorism would be eradicated”. “Six years later, if innocent people are still being killed, the Centre must explain whether its experiment has failed,” Mr. Choudhary said.

J&K National Conference president, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, while condemning the attack, demanded a fair, transparent, and time-bound investigation to identify and punish the perpetrators of crime.

“It is difficult to ignore that whenever the demand for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s Statehood gains momentum, such disturbing incidents occur. Why does this repeatedly happen? The people deserve credible answers,” said Mr. Abdullah.

Kashmir chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that Islam upholds the sanctity of every innocent human life and unequivocally condemns the killing of innocent persons.

“Targeting poor labourers who have come to earn an honest livelihood is completely contrary to the teachings of Islam and the values of humanity. The spilling of innocent blood only brings more pain and suffering,” said the Mirwaiz.

He said violence as a means should be shunned; instead, the policy of accommodation, dialogue and engagement is the way forward to make South Asia a more peaceful and better place for all its people.