The Donald Trump administration has sent out a stern message to Pakistan by designating Syed Salahuddin, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief, a global terrorist. The US Department of State's website says he is an ISIS operative.
The US government's release on declaring Salahuddin a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) says "he is the senior leader of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and has vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict, has threatened to train more Kashmiri suicide bombers, and has vowed to turn the Kashmir valley into a graveyard for Indian forces".
But the updates list on the website of the US Department of State shows its newest entrant as an ISIS terrorist while Hizb and Salahuddin have been vocal opponents of the world's most dreaded terrorist group.
According to the reports in the local media of Kashmir, Salahuddin says that outfits like Al Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS have no place in Kashmir. His propaganda includes foolish claims like the ISIS is a western brainchild to crush Islam and India is planning to launch ISIS in Kashmir to take on groups like his.
The US government is yet to clarify on why the Hizb chief has been designated as an ISIS man but it may be an unintentional error on the website.
Salahuddin has been charged under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (EO) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
THE CHARGE AGAINST SALAHUDDIN
As a consequence of this designation, US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with Salahuddin and all of Salahuddin's property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction are blocked.
Mohammad Yusuf Shah, AKA Syed Salahuddin, is the senior leader of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen.
In September, 2016, Salahuddin 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 Hizbul leader, Hizbul has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the April 2014 explosives attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, which injured 17 people.
Today's action notifies the US public and the international community that Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.
Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system. Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other nations.
©SantoshChaubey
