When the militants managed to kill the security guard of a BJP leader in Nowgam on Thursday and also decamp with his service rifle, it had caused rippled in the security establishment. That the attack took place a day after the J&K Police claimed to have stepped up security in Kashmir following a similar attack in north Kashmir’s Sopore made it all the more embarrassing for the security forces. However, the response was swift. Within 24 hours of the daring attack on the BJP leader, security forces have struck back, killing two of the three militants involved in the Nowgam strike. Two more are absconding but the service rifle has been recovered. Earlier, the militants had thrown a challenge at security forces in Sopore by killing two municipal councilors and a special police officer that had exposed chinks in security details of protected persons. There was a rare admission of lapses in security. The attack came barely days after three CRPF troopers were killed in Lawaypora area on the outskirts of Srinagar city. The sudden spurt in attacks on security personnel and BJP leaders in Kashmir was spreading a sense of unease, especially among those watching the developments here with keen eyes. Security agencies saw these attacks as an attempt to maintain peace, especially in the aftermath of the recently concluded DDC elections whose members have also become targets for militants. This had cast dark clouds on the tourism activity picking up after the winters and the upbeat expectant mood in the valley as spring appeared. The announcements of tourism initiatives and invitations extended by even the PM along with the efforts to scale up the Amarnath Yatra seem to have rattled the controllers of violence in Kashmir. It is pertinent to mention that violence has come at a huge cost. Thousands of people, including children, security personnel and civilians have perished in the past three decades of turmoil. The August 5 decision had blown a wind of hope and change in Kashmir. A number of initiatives announced by the UT administration as well as the central government have changed the narrative on Kashmir. But this has apparently not gone down well with the handlers of violence in Kashmir who want to keep the pot boiling for serving their vested interest. But with the encounter in Pulwama, security forces have sent out a message that they will not sit back and relax.