'We Are Living in Fear': Kashmir Migrant Workers Speak on Targeted Killings

<div>Targeted killing of migrant workers in Kashmir is triggering fear and anxiety across the valley, with hundreds now fleeing the region. </div> <div><br> </div> <div>Since 1 October, a total of eleven people have been the victim of targeted killings. After a spate of attacks in the region between 5-10 October, where at least seven civilians were killed, four more civilians-all of them migrant workers-were gunned down by militants between 16-17 October. </div> <div><br> </div> <div>Arbind Kumar Shah from Bihar’s Banka village and Sageer Ahmad from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh were gunned down in Srinagar and Pulwama respectively on 16 October.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>And just a day later, Raja Reshi Dev and Joginder Reshi Dev lost their lives after gunmen barged inside their rented rooms and opened fire at them in the Wanpoh area of Kulgam.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>Along with Raja and Joginder, the militants reportedly also shot and injured Chun Chun Reshi. All three belonged to Bihar and had moved to Kashmir for work.</div> <div> <br>  A terror outfit which calls itself the United Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Wanpoh while another outfit, The Resistance Front claimed that attacks in Srinagar last week.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>Kashmir has been a source of employment for lakhs of migrant workers for years, with close to 3-4 lakh labourers reportedly travelling to the Valley every year for work due to lack of employment in their state.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>From Arbind Kumar to Joginder Reshi Dev to Sageer Ahmad, all of them were the sole breadwinners for their families. In an earlier episode, we took a deep dive into why these killings are happening and the larger agenda behind them. You can find a link to that episode in our show notes. </div> <div><br> </div> <div>In today’s episode, we bring you voices of the migrant workers in Kashmir and family members of the migrant workers killed in the attacks. We also speak with Shakir Mir, a freelan