Kashmir needs a govt serious enough to eradicate terrorism.

Kashmir: As a fresh batch of over 3,000 pilgrims set for the treacherous Amarnath cave shrine on Tuesday, a day after seven of them (including five women) were killed and several more injured when terrorists attacked a bus, it spoke volumes about the indomitable human spirit that politicians exploit to hang on to the coattails of power.

The heinous attack on Hindu pilgrims at Anantnag on Monday makes state CM Mehbooba Mufti's position untenable. Mufti has shown a marked inability to administer law and order in the state, and her loosening grip over the administrative machinery is indirectly proportional to her desperation to stay in power. The incident also doesn’t speak highly of the Centre which has appeared completely clueless and ineffective beyond periodically justifying an uneasy alliance.

Nirmal Singh, the deputy chief minister, has owned up to the failures. "Definitely this is a big lapse,we have to enquire why the bus left at 5 pm... why it was allowed after sunset. We were told there was a tyre burst and the driver took time to replace it".

But this is of little value now. As CM Mehbooba must take the lion's share of the blame. Intelligence reports had pointed to heightened risk this year for the pilgrims whose journey to the mountainous cavern in the bowels of the Himalayas at Pahalgam coincided with the death anniversary of Hizbul Mujaheedin commander Burhan Wani.