Terrorist handlers sitting across Pakistan have once again attempted to derail the peace process close on the heels of a successful Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO) summit in Islamabad by targeting construction workers of India's one of the strategic road construction projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
A doctor from the Nadigam area of Central Kashmir's Budgam district along with six employees of APCO Infratech, a private construction agency constructing the Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Sonamarg highway was killed in one of the most provocative strikes in recent years in the Kashmir valley.
The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Reacting strongly to the provocative terror strike, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the dastardly terror attack on civilians in Gagangir, J&K, is a despicable act of cowardice. Those involved in this heinous act will not be spared and will face the harshest response from our security forces. "At this moment of immense grief, I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured" Amit Shah said in a post on X(earlier Twitter).
The gruesome terror strike inside the campsite has also exposed the vulnerability of migrant construction workers engaged by private agencies without caring for their adequate safety and security.
The attack also signals a shift in the strategy of Pakistan-based terrorist handlers. After launching a series of strikes on the security forces convoys in the Jammu region this time they targeted the civilians working on ground zero to earn their livelihood.
Following the strike, several workers have decided to shift to safer locations in Ganderbal and Srinagar to prevent any fresh strikes.
A large-scale search operation is also underway, with the Assam Rifles, CRPF, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) involved. Senior police officers, including the Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range VK Birdi are overseeing the efforts. A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also visited the campsite ahead of launching detailed investigations into the case.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of victims of a gruesome terror attack near Sonamarg in the Ganderbal district were sent home for the last journey on a day when newly elected members of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly were administered oath by the pro-term speaker Mubarak Gul in Srinagar.
According to ground reports around 8,00 p.m. on Sunday the heavily armed terrorists barged inside the campsite without facing any resistance and started indiscriminate firing on the construction workers. As chaos prevailed the terrorists also targeted some employees present inside the staff mess killing a local doctor, a Jammu-based designer Shashi Abrol, Safety Manager from Bihar Mohd Faheem Nasir and Mechanical Manager Anil Shukla from Madhya Pradesh.
The other dead included Gurmeet Singh son of Dharm Singh of Gurdaspur Punjab; Mohammad Hanif and Kaleem from Bihar.
At least five critically injured workers have been admitted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) for advanced treatment. Before fleeing the terrorists also torched two vehicles stationed in the campsite.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday said security forces will avenge the construction workers' death in the brutal attack in Ganderbal, and "exact a price" that the terrorists will remember for the time to come.
Sinha called for justice to the victims as he blamed Pakistan for "still trying to kill innocent people" in the region to disrupt peace. He also directed officials to provide financial assistance to the families of victims.Addressing a function here earlier in the day, the LG said, "We won't forget yesterday's dastardly attack."
The LG said there was still a threat from the "neighbouring country". "It is still trying to kill innocent people in this region and to destabilise peace here," he added at the Police Martyrs' Day function.
Sinha said there was a need to stop drug smuggling and improve counter-insurgency operations.
The LG paid tributes to those killed in the line of duty and said their sacrifices will be remembered forever.
The LG also directed Chandraker Bharti, Principal Secretary, Home Department, J-K to immediately provide financial assistance to the families of civilian victims of the terror attack, an official spokesperson said.
Sinha has also asked the company for which the seven deceased persons were working to release the compensation without any delay. Officials of APCO Infratech briefed the LG on the assistance being provided to the family members of the victims, the spokesperson said.
Under the security-related expenditure, Rs 6 lakh is to be given to the next of kin of each deceased civilian and Rs 15 lakh as an immediate measure to be provided by APCO Infratech. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to be provided to all the injured.
APCO Infratech will also provide financial assistance to the families of civilians on roll under Corporate Personal Accident Policy and five years of their gross CTC as compensation from insurance.
Sinha said, "Though it is an irreparable loss and cannot be compensated monetarily, we are taking concrete measures for the families of the martyr civilians so that they live a life of dignity."
Hurriyat Conference leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Monday condemned the terrorist attack on a workers' camp in Ganderbal district.
"Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and senior members of Hurriyat including Prof Ghani Bhat, Bilal Ghani Lone and Masroor Abbas Ansari expressed deep sorrow and grief over the dastardly killings in Gagangir," the Hurriyat said in a statement.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti said elections or big-ticket events like international marathons "cannot hide the truth that there is a problem in Kashmir which needs genuine attempts to resolve it".
"Elections, marathons, a new government being sworn in. None of these can conceal or brush under the carpet a truth most unpalatable.
"There is a problem at hand in Kashmir which for decades has claimed innocent lives & will continue to rage. Unless we acknowledge it & make genuine attempts to resolve it," she posted on X.
