Sayeed Salahudeen

Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, commonly known as Syed Salahudeen, is the head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,[1] a pro-Pakistan Kashmiri separatist militant organisation operating in Kashmir. He also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of jihadist militant groups sponsored by the ISI,[2][3] with the goal of annexing Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.[4][5][6][7] 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."[8][9]

Sayeed Salahudeen
Born (1946-02-18) 18 February 1946
Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, British Indian Empire
(now in Jammu and Kashmir, India)
Spouse(s)Nafisa
Children5 sons, 2 daughters

He is listed on the Most Wanted List of India's National Investigation Agency.[10] He is named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department Of State.[11][12] Salahuddin dismissed the listing as a "a joint move by the US, Israel, and India to express their animosity towards Pakistan."[13][14][15]

Early life

Yusuf Shah was the seventh child of middle-class parents. He was born and raised in Soibugh, Budgam, a village in the Kashmir Valley. The partition of Kashmir between India and Pakistan happened while he was still an infant. His father worked in the Postal Department of the Indian government.

After education, Yusuf Shah joined the Jammu and Kashmir Police and rose to the rank of Sub Inspector. After getting his Masters in Political Science at the University of Kashmir, where he wrote several poems, he got influenced by the Jamaat-e-Islami, and become a member of its branch in Jammu and Kashmir.[16]

At the university, Yusuf Shah became increasingly radicalised, and got involved in persuading Muslim women to veil themselves (observe orthodox Shariah) and also took part in processions in support of Pakistan. Later he became an Islamic teacher at a madrasa.

Yusuf Shah is married, with five sons and two daughters.

Political life
Main article: 1987 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election

In 1987, Yusuf Shah decided to contest the J&K assembly election on the ticket of the Muslim United Front, a coalition of political parties in Srinagar's Amira Kadal constituency. Mohammad Yusuf Shah who stood for the Legislative Assembly elections in 1987 from Amira Kadal, Srinagar. He came second after Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah of the moderate National Conference won the seat. Mohammed Yusuf Shah was arrested and put in jail for his violent agitations.

Hizbul Mujahideen

After his arrest for violent protests and release in 1989, he then joined Hizbul Mujahideen founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar alias "Master" who later parted from Hizbul Mujahideen. He soon took over as the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen and then adopted nom de guerre "Sayeed Salahudeen", named after Saladin, the 12th century Muslim political and military leader, who fought in the Crusades.

We are fighting Pakistan's war in Kashmir and if it withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan

— Sayeed Salahudeen[17]

In June 2012 in an interview, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Sayeed Salahuddin accepted that Pakistan had been backing Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for fight in Kashmir.[17] He had declared to start attacking Pakistan if Pakistan stopped backing jihadis in Jammu and Kashmir who, he claimed, were fighting "Pakistan's war".[17][5]

Designation as a terrorist by U.S.

On 26 June 2017 the US Department of State has designated Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as (AKA) Syed Salahuddin, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 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 U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. As a consequence of this designation, U.S. 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.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Skype with Salahuddin Sonia Sarkar July 2016".
  2. International Crisis Group (2002), Kashmir: Confrontation and Miscalculation, International Crisis Group, p. 6
  3. Snedden, Christopher (2013) [first published as The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir, 2012]. Kashmir: The Unwritten History. HarperCollins India. p. 198. ISBN 9350298988.
  4. PTI (8 June 2012). "Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin warns Pakistan against withdrawing support on Kashmir". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  5. "Normalization of Indo-Pak ties hurts Kashmir cause: Salahuddin". Arab News. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  6. Diplomat, Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, The. "Time for Pakistan to Cut Ties With Hizbul Mujahideen". The Diplomat. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  7. Pike, John. "Hizb-ul-Mujahideen". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  8. "State Department Terrorist Designations of Mohammad Yusuf Shah AKA Syed Salahuddin". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  9. Siddiqui, AP | Naveed (26 June 2017). "Kashmiri militant leader punished as Modi visits US". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  10. Bloeria, Conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir 2012.
  11. "State Department Terrorist Designations of Mohammad Yusuf Shah AKA Syed Salahuddin".
  12. "India stands vindicated as US names Hizbul chief Syed Salahuddin 'global terrorist'".
  13. "Top Kashmiri militant sees 'India-US-Israel nexus' behind his terrorist designation - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  14. "In TV Interview, Hizbul Mujahideen's Syed Salahuddin Exposes Pakistan's Role In Terror". NDTV.com. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  15. "Blacklisted Kashmiri Leader Vows To Continue Fight Over Kashmir | TOLOnews". TOLOnews. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  16. Express Web Desk (30 June 2017), "Who is Syed Salahuddin, chief of Hizbul Mujahideen?", Indian Express. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  17. PTI (8 June 2012). "Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin warns Pakistan against withdrawing support on Kashmir". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

Bibliography

Further reading
  • Most Wanted Profiles of Terror by K.P.S Gill, ISBN 81-7436-207-X
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