US Sanctions Kashmiri Militant Group 'Hizbul Mujahideen'

Senior leader of Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin - SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP PHOTO
Senior leader of Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin - SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP PHOTO
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US Sanctions Kashmiri Militant Group 'Hizbul Mujahideen'

Senior leader of Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin - SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP PHOTO
Senior leader of Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin - SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP PHOTO

The United States on Wednesday said it had sanctioned 'Hizbul Mujahideen', the largest of the anti-Indian Kashmiri militant groups.

The US Treasury Department, in a statement on its website reported by Reuters, said it had listed the Pakistan-based group as a counter- designated group, freezing any assets it may hold in the Untied States and prohibiting Americans from dealings with it.

"These designations seek to deny HM (Hizbul Mujahideen) the resources it needs to carry out terrorist attacks," the US State Department said in a separate statement, according to Reuters.

In announcing the designation, the State Department said the group had claimed responsibility for several attacks, including one in 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir that left 17 people injured.

Last month, the United States also designated Syed Salahuddin, a militant commander for the group, as a terrorist - a label he denounced.

Such designations are aimed at denying individuals and entities access to the US financial system.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir as a whole.

Pakistan has denied giving material help to Kashmiri separatists but has pledged to provide continued diplomatic and moral support.

India blames Pakistan for stoking the 28-year-old revolt in Muslim-majority Kashmir and has stepped up its pressure on Pakistan over the conflict.



Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Iran's police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan after the death in custody of a detainee, state media said on Saturday.

Mohammad Mir Mousavi, 36, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

"The police commander... was dismissed due to insufficient oversight of the conduct and behaviour of staff," the police said, AFP reported.

"Due to the complexity of the matter, the final conclusion on the cause of Mohammad Mir Mousavi's death depends on the medical examiner's final report.

The police said the station commander and several officers involved in the incident had been suspended.

"The behaviour of some law enforcement officers was against the professional policy of the police and that is not acceptable in any way, so they were referred to the judicial authority," the statement added.

The Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, on Wednesday said Mir Mousavi "was killed under torture in the detention center".

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the case.

Dismissals of members of the security forces are rare in Iran.

In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women, sparked months of deadly nationwide protests.