Syed Salahuddin (Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah) is the supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, one of the oldest and most formidable of Kashmiri militant groups. He also heads the United Jihad Council, a grouping of Pakistan-backed militant groups. He is based in Pakistan and this interview took place in Rawalpindi on 5 April 2001. In it, he makes a distinction between HM and other Pakistan-backed armed groups active in Kashmir. 'We are really a Kashmiri organisation and our indigenous character we have preserved at any cost.'