After opening golf tournament, CM Omar says authorities must not allow repeat of migrant worker killings

Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, strongly condemned the recent violence against migrant laborers, emphasizing that such acts are unacceptable and calling for heightened security measures. He also underscored the significance of golf tournaments as a means to boost tourism in the area, recalling a time when these events were a hallmark of Kashmir’s serene landscape, well before militancy took root.

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that the recent attack on migrant labourers in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district “should not have happened” and that those responsible for maintaining security must ensure such incidents do not recur.“It is a matter of great regret… Innocent people were killed, and no religion permits such acts. No amount of condemnation or words is enough to denounce this attack,” Omar said.Under the Union Territory arrangement, law and order and security is looked after by lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha.

On July 31, terrorists had shot and killed two migrant labourers in Kulgam district. On July 23, a terrorist had shot J&K head constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi dead in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, the first attack in Kashmir since the Pahalgam massacre that left 26 people dead on April 22 last year.The chief minister, speaking after inaugurating the fifth edition of the J&K Open 2026 DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), said the golf tournament is an important part of his govt’s broader strategy to promote tourism. “Even without actively promoting golf tourism, we have started seeing what we want, people flying into Srinagar for a long weekend of golf,” he said.When asked about Article 370 and whether its abrogation has brought any change, like holding such tournaments, Omar initially declined to comment, saying the issue was unrelated to the event. He, however, said golf tournaments were organised regularly in Kashmir long before Article 370 was abrogated, and even before militancy began. “Golf tournaments were being organised in Kashmir even in the 1980s, much before militancy,” he said.