Ahead of Modi-Trump meet, US declares Pakistan-based Hizbul chief Syed Salahuddin as global terrorist

New Delhi: In a major setback to Pakistan, the United States State Department on Monday designated Syed Salahuddin, the head of Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, as a specially designated global terrorist.

.@StateDept designates senior leader of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Mohammad Yusuf Shah, AKA Syed Salahuddin, as SDGT – https://t.co/qZEGM0MaDo pic.twitter.com/LUqDmoRuAD

— State Dept CT Bureau (@StateDeptCT) June 26, 2017

The development comes ahead of the first meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump at the White House.

As a consequence of this designation, the US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any kind of transactions with Salahuddin and all of Salahuddin's property and interests in property subject to the United States jurisdiction are blocked.

The State Department said in September 2016, as a senior leader of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Salahuddin, also known as Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, 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".

"Under Salahuddin's tenure as senior HM leader, HM has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the April 2014 explosives attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, which injured 17 people," PTI quoted an official from the State Department saying.

Following the designation of Salahuddin as the global terrorist, the State Department in a notification said he has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.

Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system.

Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other nations, it said.