US Designates Hizbul Chief Salahuddin as a Global Terrorist

Syed Salahuddin vowed to turn the Kashmir valley “into a graveyard for Indian forces”.

Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by Syed Salahuddin. (Photo: Reuters)

The United States on Monday designated Syed Salahuddin, the head of Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, as a specially designated global terrorist. The move was welcomed by India which said it underlines quite strongly that both America and India face threat of terrorism.

The move by the State Department comes just hours before the first meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump at the White House.

As a consequence of this designation, US citizens are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with Salahuddin and all of his property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction are blocked.

As a senior leader of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the State Department said in September, Salahuddin, also known as Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict, threatened to train more Kashmiri suicide bombers, and vowed to turn the Kashmir valley “into a graveyard for Indian forces”.

Under Salahuddin’s tenure as senior HM leader, HM has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the April 2014 explosives attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, which injured 17 people.

State Department

Following the designation of Salahuddin as the global terrorist, the State Department in a notification said he has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.

India Welcomes US’s Move

"India welcomes this notification. It underlines also quite strongly that both India and the US face threat of terrorism," Gopal Baglay, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.

Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system.

In general, it does vindicate India’s long standing position that cross border terrorism has been behind disturbances created in Kashmir.

Gopal Baglay

Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other nations, it said.

(With PTI inputs)