Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump, the United States on Monday declared the leader of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, a ‘global terrorist’.
India welcomed the move and said it will help for fighting terrorism. "India welcomes this notification. It underlines also quite strongly that both India and the US face threat of terrorism," External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
“The outfits that Syed Salahuddin leads have perpetuated terrorism against India from the territory of Pakistan and PoK, especially in the state of J-K,” Baglay said.
Who is Syed Salahuddin?
Salahuddin is the supreme commander of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar also known as ‘Master’. He is known for playing a major role for the spurt in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir over the past 27 years.
He is also the chief of the United Jihad Council (UJC) that oversees the operations of the terror outfits in the Valley.
After Hizbul’s militant commander in the Valley, Burhan Wani, was killed last year, Salahuddin claimed Wani was a ‘martyr’. Last year, Salahuddin had claimed responsibility for the Pathankot airbase terror attack last year.
Salahuddin has been quite vocal about his anti-India stance and is listed in the NIA’s most-wanted list.
Born in the Budgam village of Kashmir, the 71-year-old militant was once a well-known preacher affiliated to the religious socio-political organisation Jamaat-e-Islaami.
He completed his Masters in political science from the University of Kashmir in 1971, reports say.
Before joining the militancy, he unsuccessfully contested the Kashmir Assembly elections from Amirakal constituency in 1987.