Pakistan's remarks in support of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani highlight its support for terrorist groups throughout the region, a US news website said today.
"The government of Pakistan called the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by Indian troops 'deplorable and condemnable'. This condemnation highlights Pakistan's support for terrorist groups throughout the region," The Long War Journal (TLWJ) said in a report.
The Long War Journal said the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), the powerful military intelligence wing that secretly directs Pakistan's foreign policy, has created and supported numerous jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir in an effort to separate the state from India.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, it said, is one of the more powerful jihadist insurgent groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
"It has close ties to other Pakistani terror groups that focuses on fighting in Jammu and Kashmir, but also supports al Qaeda and other jihadist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Its leader, Syed Salahuddin, operates unfettered inside Pakistan and he and his group are directly supported by the state" said the op-ed authored by Bill Roggio, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies and the Editor of The Long War Journal.
Salahuddin, he wrote, is the chairman of the United Jihad Council, which is supported by the Pakistani military and the ISI as well.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed, two groups that are on the US and UN lists of terror organisations, are similarly part of the United Jihad Council.
Salahuddin has close ties to the LeT and its charitable front, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and Jaish-e-Mohammed are listed by the US government as terrorist organisations for their involvement in terrorist activities in India and Afghanistan, he said.
