India welcomes US move to designate HM as foreign terror organisation

18/08/2017

NEW DELHI, Aug 17: India today welcomed the the US decision to designate Kashmiri militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen as a "foreign terrorist organisation", saying the move was "long overdue".
The US yesterday designated the Hizbul Mujahideen as a foreign terrorist group, nearly two months after declaring its Pakistan-based chief Syed Salahuddin as a global terrorist.
The decision to designate Hizbul Mujahideen as a foreign terrorist organisation was long overdue, a Home Ministry spokesperson said, adding "it is well deserved".
The decision, which slaps a series of US sanctions on the outfit, came against the backdrop of an upsurge in the activities of the militant group in Kashmir in recent months.
Among other consequences, all of Hizbul Mujahideen's property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group.
The US decision marks a severe blow to Pakistan which has been projecting the militant group as a voice of Kashmiri people.
Formed in 1989, Hizbul Mujahideen is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in Kashmir. It has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
The State Department said terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the US financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of US agencies and other governments, it said.
However, Pakistan today said that it was "disappointed" with the US decision to designate the Kashmiri militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen as a foreign terrorist organisation and termed the move as "completely unjustified."
The US yesterday designated the Hizbul Mujahideen as a foreign terrorist group, nearly two months after declaring its Pakistan-based chief Syed Salahuddin as a global terrorist.
"The designation of individuals or groups supporting the Kashmiri right to self-determination as terrorists is completely unjustified," Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said during his weekly press conference here.
He said the US decision did not take into account "the 70-year struggle of Kashmiris."
"We are disappointed (with the US decision) in view of the fact that Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute with UNSC resolutions pending implementation," he said.
He reiterated Pakistan's "moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people's struggle".
Formed in 1989, Hizbul Mujahideen is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in Kashmir.
Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked whether Pakistan would take up the matter with the US, Zakaria said, "whenever meeting between the two sides is held, we table all concerns from our side."
He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "neither bullet nor abuse" comments validates Pakistan's stance that the "only solution of Kashmir is through fair and free plebiscite."
He also urged India to allow a UN fact-finding mission to probe into alleged human rights abuses in Kashmir.

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