Muzaffarabad: Hizbul Mujahideen head Syed Salahuddin has said that Pakistan should send its troops across the Line of Control (LoC) to extend "the much-needed military aid to struggling" Kashmiris if the United Nations did not send peacekeeping troops there following New Delhi's revocation of the special status granted Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at a gathering here on Sunday, Salahuddin said that "jihad is the only way to expel India from Kashmir," Samaa TV reported. "It's binding upon the armed forces of Pakistan to enter India-occupied Kashmir to militarily help the people of the territory," said Salahuddin, who was designated a global terrorist by the US in 2017.

"In these testing times, mere diplomatic and political support is not going to work," Salahuddin told the gathering in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Earlier this year, Pakistan announced a crackdown on militant groups amid global pressure after the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing which killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. The attack was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), triggering major tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Salahuddin said "harsh steps" taken by the Pakistan government that time had hindered his group's ability to take action. "These steps have restrained us from launching armed resistance against India in a move that is unfair," he said.

When Salahuddin was placed on the list of global terrorists in 2017, the Pakistan government had called it "unjustified".