The killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz, a Kashmiri in the Indian Army, in Shopian in South Kashmir, obliterates all the distinction between the soldiers on duty and those on leave. This is a gruesome departure even from the standards of terrorism. It is a horrible manifestation of the prevailing culture of hate in which anyone siding with the security forces is considered an enemy and has to be purged. The tacit approval of such atrocious acts of the Kashmiri awaam — out of fear or out of sympathy for them — is an invitation for more violence.In this atmosphere governance has gone for a six. Governance has fallen victim to violence and the fear-gripped politics. The political space has shrunk to an alarming level. The reopening of the government offices in Srinagar on Monday as part of the durbar move practice saw the resumption of protests with greater intensity. Nothing has changed for the people, and the government is as remote as it has been since July last year when the killing of a militant, Burhan Wani,  pushed governance to the margins. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti finds herself isolated as ministers and others flee the Valley as and when she needs them the most. The aimless ministerial reshuffle earlier this year has added to her woes. The ministers and other PDP leaders grudgingly accept her as their leader. Her political constituency and charisma have suffered an almost irreparable dent.The alliance partner, the BJP, is caught in its own infighting. It speaks in multiple voices. One of its spokespersons, arguing that since the Kashmir situation is not conducive for the people of Jammu to visit violence-swept  Srinagar, has called for an “abandoning” of the more-than-century old durbar move practice which is based on the idea of making governance  more  accessible  to the peoples  of the two regions on a rotational basis. The party is missing a larger point. The closure of the durbar in Kashmir amounts to a withdrawal from the Valley. It would have a profound impact on the integrity of Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP is betraying signs of a clueless leadership.