Sixth anniversary of Article 370 abrogation: LG Manoj Sinha hands over 250 appointment letters to family members of terror victims

On the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, continued his outreach programme for the families of the victims of terrorism in the Union Territory. 250 terror victim families were handed over appointment letters at a function in Srinagar's SKICC. The government calls it a historic step to deliver Justice to the Terror Victim Families.

According to official data, around 1200 victim families have contacted the district authorities seeking justice and rehabilitation. These families came forward only after the Lieutenant Governor had met with terror victim families in Anantnag on 29th June 2025, and they were assured that eligible Next of kin would receive jobs within just 30 days.

The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today handed over appointment letters to the members of the 158 terror victim families in Srinagar. The process will continue till every terror victim's family is rehabilitated.

''Today is 5th August and on this day in 2019, the PM took a decision to end the prejudice against the people of J&K. We witnessed a new dawn in J&K. There were many laws made for the country, but J&K was kept away from their laws but now people of J&K have understood how things have worked in their favour post 2019. Thousands of NoKs who were living in fear began living freely after August 5. Some people were purposely ignoring these terror victims. We took some time to reach out to terror victims; I apologise for that. We have also started a portal. We will make sure that Justice is delivered to these NoKs and terror victims, '' said LG Manoj Sinha.

The Lieutenant Governor assured the people that the Government will rehabilitate the genuine victims of terrorism. There were dozens of victim families with their painful stories. Some of them had lost their fathers, some had lost husbands, and some mothers had lost their sons. Some even lost multiple family members in one attack.

My father was serving in the Jammu and Kashmir Police and was killed by terrorists in 1996. At that time, I was just five months old, and my mother had been married for 13 months. We were abandoned by my father's family, but the JK Police supported us. Today, Manoj Sinha sir's initiative is something we will remember forever. It's been 29 years since we waited for this day. Today, we got the Justice, the martyrs of Jammu and Kashmir got justice. I did not get to see my father, but I could feel him today, '' said Bisma Mushtaq, Terror Victim.

A huge number of victim families had gathered at Srinagar today. These families said that they have been neglected for over three decades and narrated their terror stories in front of the LG. All these victim families thanked the LG while they said that they have been waiting for justice forever.

My father was killed in 2000, and since then, my case has been pending. I have faced so much; my mother worked as a labourer and made sure to send us to school and college. We had to struggle so much. After I qualified for the 12th standard, I also started working as a labourer and helping my mother. We faced so much trouble, but today it seems to have gone away. We thank Manoj Sinha for thinking about us. We were thrown out of the offices of Politicians, but Governor Sir made sure to work for us, '' said Ishfaq Ahmad Bhat, Terror Victim.

Helplines have been set up in districts to register grievances of terror victims. Authorities say that they are receiving hundreds of complaints from the 90s, also. In many cases, FIRs were not registered, lands were encroached, and properties demolished, and the government says that the authorities have also decided to review cases where FIRs were not lodged.

We have gone through so much in the last three decades, and now we have given up. Everywhere we would go, they would say Forget it. But now, the LG Manoj Sinha thought about us and our families. My father was in the JK Police, and he was killed by terrorists while he was on Duty, ''Zubair Ahmad Mir, Terror Victim. The government will periodically review the status of pending and resolved cases, analyse delays or bottlenecks in processing, and coordinate with relevant departments to ensure timely and just resolution of claims.