Mohammad Yusuf Shah (born 18 February or December 1946), commonly known asSyed Salahuddin, is the head ofHizbul Mujahideen, a militant organization operating inKashmir. He also heads theUnited Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of jihadist militant groups sponsored by theISI,[1][2] with the goal of mergingJammu and Kashmir with Pakistan.[3][4][5][6]
Salahuddin 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."[7][8] He is listed on theMost Wanted List of India'sNational Investigation Agency.[9] He is named as aSpecially Designated Global Terrorist by theUS Department Of State.[10][11] Salahuddin dismissed the listing as "a joint move by the US, Israel, and India to express their animosity towards Pakistan."[12][13][14] Pakistan also dismissed sanction against him.[15] In May 2020, Indian media called an attack on him a warning by Pakistani intelligence.[16]
In August 2020 India'sEnforcement Directorate filed a charge-sheet.[17] A court in New Delhi issued a summons in 2021 in relation to a terror funding case.[18] In 2022, India's NIA court ordered charges to be framed against him and others.[19]
Syed Mohammad Yusuf Shah was born in December 1946 inSoibugh,Budgam, a village in theKashmir Valley. His maternal grandfather Gulla Saheb was a well-known spiritual figure. His father was a farmer.[20]
Yusuf Shah studied under his maternal grandfather's guidance, who took an interest in his education. In high school, Shah composed poetry inEnglish and regularly participated in debate competitions.[21] He finished Intermediate in science with first-class marks.[20] Then he studied arts at theSri Pratap College, Srinagar and Masters in Political Science at theUniversity of Kashmir, receiving his degree in 1971.[20] Later he became an Islamic teacher at amadrasa or traditional religious seminary.[22]
A year after his graduation, Yusuf Shah was appointed as the tehsil chief ofJamaat-e-Islami Kashmir for Budgam. Later he became the chief Nizam-e-Aala for the Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing, Tehreek-e-Talaba. In 1986, he was appointed the district chief of Jamaat for the Srinagar district.[20] According to a biography in theHindustan Times, he was a notable Islamic scholar and preacher.[23] HisFriday sermons at the Exhibition Grounds in Srinagar were popular with the youth. His sermons were contemporary and "had the power to articular what was in our minds", according to Showkat Ahmad Bakhshi of theIslamic Students League.[24]
In 1987, Yusuf Shah contested theJ&K assembly election as a candidate of theMuslim United Front, in Srinagar'sAmira Kadal constituency.[20] The Islamic Students League campaigned for him and provided the "street power" to counter the cadres of the National Conference.Yasin Malik served as his campaign manager and Ajaz Dar, who had a licensed gun, served as his unofficial bodyguard.[24]There is consensus among the scholars that the election was 'stolen' and Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah of theNational Conference was declared as the winner despite Yusuf Shah having had the lead.[24][25][26]Yusuf Shah as well as Yasin Malik, along with other supporters, were arrested and put in jail without trial.[27]
After his arrest for violent protests and release in 1989, he then joinedHizbul Mujahideen founded byMuhammad Ahsan Dar alias "Master" who later parted from Hizbul Mujahideen. He soon took over as the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen and then adoptednom de guerre "Syed Salahuddin", named afterSaladin,[28] the 12th century Sunni Muslim political and military leader, who fought inThe Third Crusade.
We are fighting Pakistan's war in Kashmir and if it withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan
In June 2012 in an interview, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin accepted that Pakistan had been backing Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for fight in Kashmir.[29] He had declared to start attacking Pakistan if it ceased support ofjihadis in Jammu and Kashmir, as they were fighting "Pakistan's war".[29][4]
On 26 June 2017 theUS Department of State has designated Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, as aSpecially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) ofExecutive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. As a consequence of this designation, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with Salahuddin and all of Salahuddin's property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction are blocked.[7] He is designated as an Indian national with a date of birth of 1952 and addresses inMuzaffarabad (the capital ofPak administered Kashmir, Pakistan),Rawalpindi (thePakistan military headquarters) andIslamabad.[30]
Pakistan rejected the US sanctions against him.[15]
Shah is married, with five sons and two daughters. Writing in 2017, Indian journalistBarkha Dutt, who met him inRawalpindi, stated that none of Syed Salahuddin's children had been involved in militancy, and that four of them had held government jobs.[31]
Two sons were removed from government offices in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021.[32] In the next month one of his sons, Syed Shakeel Yousuf was arrested, in a terror funding case. Shahid, another son, had been arrested before.[33]
^Aggarwal, Neil Krishan (2023).Militant Leadership: Person-Centered Studies from Kashmir. Oxford scholarship online Psychology. New York, NY:Oxford University Press. p. 68.ISBN978-0-19-764041-8.
^Bose, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace (2003), pp. 48–49: "As counting of ballots begins, it becomes clear that the MUF's Yusuf Shah, a member of a conservative religious party called the Jama'at-i-Islami, is winning by a landslide. This is his third attempt to be elected to the IJK assembly, and finally the public seems to be en masse on his side. The other Shah, routed in the contest, leaves the counting center in a visibly dejected mood and goes home. But he is summoned back—to be declared the winner by presiding officials." harvp error: no target: CITEREFBose,_Kashmir:_Roots_of_Conflict,_Paths_to_Peace2003 (help)
^Habibullah, Wajahat (2008),My Kashmir: Conflict and the Prospects for Enduring Peace, Washington DC: United States Institute for Peace Press, p. 61,ISBN978-1-60127-031-3,Having spoken to several participants, I am satisfied that there is not the slightest exaggeration in Bose's account of what transpired in the Amira Kadal constituency.
Bloeria, S. S. (2012),"Conflict overview", in V. R. Raghavan (ed.),Conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir: Impact on Polity, Society and Economy, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, pp. 15–56,ISBN978-93-82573-33-3
