The Sunday Guardian obtained internal correspondence between sympathisers and members of the outlawed Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist group, which is led by Syed Salahuddin of Pakistan. The correspondence reveals that the Pakistan Army, the group’s handlers, chose to kill the HM commander, purportedly at the behest of former Chief General of the Pakistan Army, Qamar Javed Bajwa. But according to the statements made during the call, Salahuddin was miraculously spared by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents who are “committed to the cause of Kashmir.”

The internal message purports that Bajwa, who was named Army Chief by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2016, sought to restrain the terrorist organisations that were active in Kashmir. For this reason, when Salahuddin declined

The chronology corresponds with the time frame in which Bajwa met with a few journalists in Islamabad in March 2018 and discussed, among other things, his desire to end terrorism and integrate willing militants into society. Journalists and think tanks later dubbed this approach to problem-solving and analysis the “Bajwa doctrine.”

The 78-year-old Salahuddin, who was born in Kashmir and currently resides in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, has disappeared and ceased appearing in public, lending some credence to these accusations.

Hizbul Mujahideen and Syed Salahuddin are now a spent force, having carried out their first terror assault on 16 January 1990, killing a local police constable and hanging him from a tree, on the orders of their ideological mentor, Jamaat-e-Islami. Salutations, SalahuddinBut as the subsequent incidents show, either Bajwa chose to backtrack on his promises to control the terrorist organisations that were specific to India, or he was unable to maintain control over his generals and subordinates, including those in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who desired to carry out the aggressive policy against India, which also included arming and financing jihadi terror groups.

In February 2019, Jaish-e-Mohhamad carried out a deadly suicide attack on a CRPF convoy, exactly one year after Bajwa had discussed his philosophy and purportedly attempted to rein in the terror groups. This led to India conducting airstrikes in Balakot on the Jaish camps located in Pakistan.

Upon the initial discussion of the Bajwa ideology, the ISI—often considered the most

According to the internal message, Salahuddin was contacted by a Pakistan Army official in late 2022 or early 2023, who asked him to resume terror activities in Kashmir. Salahuddin allegedly asked that if Bajwa and Faiz Hameed were court martialed for what the chat purports to be an effort by both to compromise on the Kashmir issue, the jihadis would work more aggressively. The official had assured that Bajwa would not be affected, but Faiz, who had announced his early retirement on December 10, 2022, would be looked after.