Islamabad: A day after United States declared Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a “global terrorist”, Pakistan slammed the decision and termed it as “completely unjustified” America’s designation of individuals supporting the right of “self-determination” of Kashmiris as terrorists.
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry said here in a statement, “Pakistan shall continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support for the just struggle of the Kashmiri people for the realisation of the right to self-determination and the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions.”
Without naming Salahuddin, a ministry spokesperson said, “the designation of individuals supporting the Kashmiri right to self-determination as terrorists is completely unjustified.”
The “70-year long indigenous struggle of Kashmiris remains legitimate,” claimed the spokesperson.
He further said, “the gross and systematic violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people that have been recorded and reported by independent human rights bodies is a reality.”
The Kashmiris remain undeterred and unbowed, he added.
Dealing a major blow to Pakistan, the the US on Monday had declared Salahuddin as a “global terrorist”.
In a notification, the State Department said Salahuddin, who hails from Kashmir and is based in Pakistan for the last 28 years, “has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.”
The US took the step against the Hizbul Mujahideen’s 71- year-old chief, whose original name is Mohammed Yusuf Shah, as he had “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.”