US designates Hizbul Mujahideen a terrorist group
India hails decision; Pakistan disappointed
ISLAMABAD: The US State Department on Wednesday designated Hizbul Mujahedeen (HM) a foreign terrorist organization.
The designation comes amid mounting pressure from India and its lobby groups to curtail alleged Pakistan-backed militant activities in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“We are disappointed with the US decision,” said Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Mohammed Nafees Zakaria.
“Neither the Indian presence in Indianoccupied Kashmir nor its brutal actions against defenseless Kashmiris are lawful. The 70-year-old indigenous struggle of Kashmiris in Indian-occupied Kashmir remains legitimate. The designation of individuals or groups supporting the Kashmiri right to self-determination as terrorists is completely unjustified.”
In July, the State Department declared HM’s leader Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Political analyst Tariq Peerzada told Arab News that the people of Pakistan consider Shah, 71, “a freedom fighter, and his party is considered part of the freedom struggle.
The designation “may have an impact as far as the media is concerned,” but not beyond, he said.
Americans are prohibited from “engaging in transactions with Salahuddin” and HM, and all assets found in US jurisdiction “are blocked,” the State Department said in a statement.
India hailed the designation as a “logical step.” The decision came two days after US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate India’s 70th Independence Day and discuss strengthening bilateral ties.
The EU has also blacklisted HM, which is accused of several attacks in Indianadministered Kashmir.
Zakaria told Arab News: “It is India that deserves to be held accountable for brutal use of force against Kashmiris, and for committing gross human rights violations there.”
He accused India of “involvement in terrorism in Pakistan,” and of using “Afghan soil against Pakistan … We’ve flagged these issues with the US and many other countries … We’ve submitted dossiers to the UN secretary-general.”
Based in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, HM is the oldest and largest group fighting for Kashmiri self-determination.
It was founded in 1989 by a former school teacher, Muhammed Ahsan Dar, who was affiliated with Pakistan’s largest religious political party, Jamat-e-Islami ( JI).
Condemning the designation, Dr. Farid Ahmed Paracha, deputy head of JI, told Arab News it will have “no effect” on HM. “They’re freedom fighters, not terrorists.” The US is appeasing India but this will resolve nothing for Kashmiris, he said.
While India accuses Pakistan of meddling in its affairs in Kashmir via non-state actors, Pakistan has put forth a long list of atrocities committed by Indian forces in Indianadministered Kashmir.