In an explosive interview to Pakistan’s Geo News, Hizbul Mujahideen chief and self-styled head of the United Jihad Council, Syed Salahuddin, warned that his group has the capability to strike anywhere in India and at any time. Geo News did not disclose how it got access for the interview that has been making waves in the sub-continent.
In the interview, Salahuddin reportedly called Kashmir his home and said:
Salahuddin, who operates his network from the capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, denied that Pakistan provides weapons to his organisation. His remarks, however, do seem to suggest he can easily acquire weapons in Pakistan.
He went on to criticise Pakistan for only providing political, moral, and not military support to the Kashmir cause.
Salahuddin, who was branded as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the US only days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, vowed to continue the struggle for "liberation" of Kashmir from India.
In a sentiment different from the recent interview, he had said:
India Calls Remarks ‘Proof of Pakistan’s Assistance’
Strongly hitting out at Pakistan, India asserted that Salahuddin’s brazen admission was proof of Islamabad's policy of cross-border terrorism.
The confession also affirms the complicity of Pakistan's state structure in using terrorist proxies as a matter of policy against the neighbours, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
The brazen admission by Syed Salahuddin of perpetrating terrorist attacks on India and having the capacity to carry out such attacks at any place and time in India is further proof of Pakistan’s continuing policy of cross-border terrorism.
Baglay demanded that Pakistan must give up its policy of cross-border terrorism, fulfill its obligations under international resolutions and stop all activities of terrorists from the territory under Pakistan's control.
The MEA spokesperson further said that “the interview only highlights the unabashed manner in which terrorist organisations and leaders enjoy freedom of operations in Pakistan, including access to terror financing, and procurement and supply of weapons for terrorism.”
It is a matter of deep regret that senior Pakistan functionaries continue to justify and defend the activities of such internationally designated terrorist entities and leaders, who have been responsible for killing thousands of innocent civilians over the past three decades.MEA sposperson
Pak Says 'Global Terrorist' Tag Meant to Appease India
Even as India meted out strong statements about Pakistan’s abetment of terror, Islamabad on Monday dismissed the US designating Salahuddin a “global terrorist”, saying it was not a UN decision but a move by the Trump administration to “appease” India.
Alleging that India was offering its services to the US to “pressurise” China, Pakistan Prime Minister's adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said India has been trying to downplay the Kashmir issue for a very long time.
Pakistan was not bound to follow the decision as it was not a UN declaration, Pakistani daily Dawn quoted Aziz as saying.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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