Facing criticism for not protesting against mentioning of "Indian-Administered Jammu and Kashmir" (IAJK) by the United States State Department, the Centre on Thursday tried to downplay the usage of the term saying it merely affirmed Indian position that Hizbul Mujaheedin chief Syed Salahuddin had been involved in cross-border terrorism against India. The Ministry of External Affairs maintained that similar terms have been used in the past also.
However, following queries on whether India has taken up the use of term IAJK with the US Government, the MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that India's position that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India is well known. "The US Government has been apprised of the same once again," he added.
Just hours before American President Donald Trump met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, the US State Department designating Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist".
"Mohammad Yusuf Shah, aka Syed Salahuddin, is the senior leader of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). In September, 2016, 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.' 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," the US State Department said.
The wordings -- IAJK -- drew strong criticism from several quarters. The Congress had on Wednesday attacked the the Modi government over its silence on the issue.
Reacting to the criticism and queries from media for not protesting US wordings on J&K, Baglay said: "Similar term has been used in the State Department's country reports on terrorism brought out every year, including in the period 2010-2013, in the context of cross-border terrorism perpetrated on India. India's consistent position that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India is well known."
He said India has welcomed the designation of Salahuddin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US and added that this long-awaited step had been under discussion. "The Joint Statement issued on June 26, 2017 after Prime Minister's talks with US President Trump is the strongest joint expression of the commitment of the two sides to be shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against terrorism and calls on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," he said.
