Mohammad Yusuf Shah (born 18 February or December 1946), commonly known as Syed Salahuddin, is the head of

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahidin (, ), is a Pakistan-based Islamist separatist militant organisation that has been engaged in the Kashmir insurgency since 1989. It aims to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakist ...

, a militant organization operating in

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. He also heads the

United Jihad Council The United Jihad Council, also known as the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), is an Islamist Jihadist coalition that operates as a center for unified command and control over the anti-Indian militant groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir. It was fo ...

, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of jihadist militant groups sponsored by the ISI, with the goal of merging

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

with Pakistan. 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." He is listed on the

Most Wanted List A most wanted list is a list of criminals and alleged criminals who are believed to be fugitive, at large and are identified as a law enforcement agency's highest priority for capture. The list can alert the public to be watchful, and generates ...

of India's

National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the principal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India. Established under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it is tasked with investigating and combating offenses related to terroris ...

. He is named as a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of U.S. Executive ...

by the

US Department Of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

. Salahuddin dismissed the listing as "a joint move by the US, Israel, and India to express their animosity towards Pakistan." Pakistan also dismissed sanction against him. In May 2020, Indian media called an attack on him a warning by Pakistani intelligence. In August 2020 India's

Enforcement Directorate The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under th ...

filed a charge-sheet. A court in New Delhi issued a summons in 2021 in relation to a terror funding case. In 2022, India's NIA court ordered charges to be framed against him and others.

Early life and education

Syed Mohammad Yusuf Shah was born in December 1946 in

Soibugh Soibugh is a town in Budgam district in the Indian-administered States and union territories of India, union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is from the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir (union territ ...

Budgam Budgam (), known as Badgom (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town in Budgam district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. In the 2001 census, it was recorded as having a notified area committee,This gives the population of Budgam adga ...

, a village in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

. His maternal grandfather Gulla Saheb was a well-known spiritual figure. His father was a farmer.'Nobody can hand me over to India'
, Rediff, 8 August 2006. Yusuf Shah studied under his maternal grandfather's guidance, who took an interest in his education. In high school, Shah composed poetry in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and regularly participated in debate competitions. He finished Intermediate in science with first-class marks. Then he studied arts at the

Sri Pratap College Sri Pratap College, commonly known as SP College, is an academic and professional college in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The college has been accredited by NAAC with an 'A+' Grade. It is the oldest institute of higher education in the K ...

, Srinagar and Masters in Political Science at the

University of Kashmir University of Kashmir (UoK), informally known as Kashmir University (KU), is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public State university (India), state university located in the Hazratbal neighbourhood, on the western side of ...

, receiving his degree in 1971. Later he became an Islamic teacher at a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

or traditional religious seminary.

Political career

Jamaat-e-Islami

A year after his graduation, Yusuf Shah was appointed as the tehsil chief of

Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir The Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir or Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JIJK) is an Islamic political party based in the city of Srinagar in the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is distinct from the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. Th ...

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. According to a biography in the ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

'', he was a notable Islamic scholar and preacher.Abhishek Saha
Syed Salahuddin: From political science student in Kashmir to 'global terrorist'
, Hindustan times, 27 June 2017. His Friday 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 the

Islamic Students League Yasin Malik (born 3 April 1966) is a Kashmiri separatist leader and former militant who advocates the separation of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. He is the chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, which originally spearheaded arm ...

.Saima Bhat
Battleground Amira Kadal
, Kashmir Life, 24 March 2016.

Muslim United Front

In 1987, Yusuf Shah contested the J&K assembly election as a candidate of the

Muslim United Front The Muslim United Front (MUF) was a 'polyglot coalition' of Islamic Kashmiri political parties that contested the 1987 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election in the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jamaat-e-Islami of ...

, in Srinagar's Amira Kadal constituency. 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. There is consensus among the scholars that the election was 'stolen' and Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah of the National Conference was declared as the winner despite Yusuf Shah having had the lead. Yusuf Shah as well as Yasin Malik, along with other supporters, were arrested and put in jail without trial.

Militancy career

Hizbul Mujahideen

After his arrest for violent protests and release in 1989, he then joined

founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar alias "Master" who later parted from Hizbul Mujahideen. He soon took over as the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen and then adopted ''nom de guerre'' "Syed Salahuddin", named after

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

, the 12th century Sunni Muslim political and military leader, who fought in The Third Crusade. 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. He had declared to start attacking Pakistan if it ceased support of

jihadis Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Islamic movements that seek to establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation is an efficient and theologically legiti ...

in Jammu and Kashmir, as they were fighting "Pakistan's war".

Designation as a terrorist by U.S.

On 26 June 2017 the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

has designated Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, as a

(SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive 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. He is designated as an Indian national with a date of birth of 1952 and addresses in

Muzaffarabad Muzaffarabad (; , IPA: ʊzəfːərɑːbɑːd is a city in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

(the capital of Pak administered Kashmir, Pakistan),

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

(the Pakistan military headquarters) and

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. Pakistan rejected the US sanctions against him.

Personal life

Family

Shah is married, with five sons and two daughters. Writing in 2017, Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, who met him in

, stated that none of Syed Salahuddin's children had been involved in militancy, and that four of them had held government jobs. Two sons were removed from government offices in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. 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.

References

Bibliography

External links

Who is Syed Salahuddin, chief of Hizbul Mujahideen?
''Indian Express'', 30 June 2017.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salahuddin, Syed 1946 births Fugitives wanted by India Fugitives wanted on terrorism charges Indian expatriates in Pakistan Indian Islamists Living people Kashmiri militants People from Budgam district University of Kashmir alumni Indian people imprisoned on terrorism charges People charged with terrorism Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Leaders of jihadist groups Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir politicians