Syed Salahuddin, supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, speaks at a rally in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan on July 8, 2017. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin, in a rare appearance post August 5, 2019, offered the funeral prayers for his close aide, Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Monday.
Salahuddin, also chief of the United Jehad Council, could be seen in viral video emerging from Pakistan’s Rawalpindi, offering funeral prayers. The Centre designated him as a terrorist in October last year and described him as “launching commander” who would send fresh batches of armed recruits into the Kashmir Valley.
Salahuddin chose to keep his message very cryptic and did not blame any outfit or group for the targeted killing of a high-value militant from his inner circle. However, he suggested that “conspiracies at the international level were being hatched”.
“Conspiracies at the international level are being hatched to sabotage the sacrifices made by the people of Kashmir. We have to pledge today and promise to Allah to continue the struggle,” Salahuddin, who was surrounded by gunmen in green dresses, said.
Indirect threat
In an indirect threat to unnamed quarters, Salahuddin said, “Till the last drop of our blood, we will not do any sellout on Kashmir. Neither will we do any sellout not will we allow anyone to do that. He will have to pay a price for that,” Salahuddin, amid pro-jihad slogans, said.
It’s for the first time that Salahuddin has lost a close aide inside Pakistan to unknown assailants. Though many of his bodyguards and close ‘commanders’ were killed or arrested in Kashmir in the past three decades.
India in 2020 designated Syed Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Salahudin alias Peer Sahab alias Buzurg as a terrorist. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Salahuddin also heads the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), a conglomerate of around 13 Pakistan-based Kashmir-centric terror outfits
The National Investigation Agency has also registered a case, figuring his name, in flow of funds from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir through hawala channels via Delhi for funding terrorist and sympathisers active. Two Red Corner Notices have been issued by India against Salahuddin so far.
