Mohammad Yusuf Shah (born 18 February or December 1946), commonly known as Syed Salahuddin, is the head of Hizbul Mujahideen, an organization operating in Kashmir. He also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of jihadist militant groups sponsored by the ISI,[1][2] with the goal of merging Jammu 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 the Most Wanted List of India's National Investigation Agency.[9] He is named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US 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's Enforcement 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]