I did it, boasts Hizb chief on TV
Salahuddin claims many supporters in India and boasts of arms purchases in interview
ISLAMABAD Recently designated 'global terrorist' Syed Salahuddin told Geo TV, a Pakistani news channel, that he and his outfit the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) were behind terror attacks in India.
“Till now our focus was on Indian occupation forces. All the operations that we have done or are underway, we focus only on the installations of these occupational forces,” Salahuddin said in an interview.
Salahuddin also claimed to have many supporters in India and said he had purchased weapons from international markets, adding that he has the capacity to deliver weapons at any place if paid for it.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for decades have been fighting around half a million Indian troops deployed in the region, calling for independence or a merger with Pakistan. Pakistan had last week called the US action “completely unjustified” because it involved an individual “supporting Kashmiri right to self-determination”.
Two days ago it was reported that Salahuddin said at a rally in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, that his “fighters' attacks were on legitimate military targets as opposed to civilians.” The rally was widely covered in the Pakistan media.
He told the rally that “Donald Trump's decision will be thrown out if anyone challenges it in American courts. No other Western nation has endorsed what this Trump has done.”
He added “This (the Trump administration's) can neither weaken our courage, nor stop the freedom struggle and the targetoriented actions of freedom fighters.”
Salahuddin criticised US President Donald Trump’s action against him. He sais it was the Trump administration’s “gift to (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi”.
He has earlier threatened to turn Kashmir valley into “a graveyard for Indian forces”.
The US State Department had imposed sanctions last month on Salahuddin, described as a senior leader of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. The move means the United States now considers Salahuddin, also known as Mohammad Yusuf Shah, a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” the State Department said in a statement.
The new sanctions mean American citizens are generally barred from doing business with Salahuddin, and all his assets subject to United States jurisdiction are blocked.
In September, 2016, Salahuddin vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict, and threatened to train more Kashmiri suicide bombers and turn the Kashmir valley into “a graveyard for Indian forces”.
Under his leadership, the terror group has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the April 2014 strike in Jammu and Kashmir that injured 17 people. LONDON: India on Monday lodged a strong protest with British authorities for allowing a rally to be held in Birmingham on July 8 to commemorate the day Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Burhan Wani was killed in 2016, asking them to stop the event.
A ‘note verbale’ in this regard was issued by deputy high commissioner Dinesh Patnaik to the