Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin, Jamaat-ud-Dawa head Hafiz Saeed and others hold hands in solidarity at an anti-India rally in Islamabad on July 20, 2016. Photo: AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday it is unjust to term those partaking in the freedom struggle for Kashmir as terrorists.

A statement by the ministry stated that human rights continue to be violated in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

?In the last one year, the occupying Indian forces have increased their atrocities against innocent civilians in the valley. Kashmiris cannot be denied their right to self-determination,? read the statement.

The ministry?s statement follows the imposition of sanctions on Kashmiri freedom fighter and chief of the Hizbul Mujahieed Syed Sallahudin by the US government on Monday.

The move means the United States now considers Salahuddin, also known as Mohammad Yusuf Shah, a ?Specially Designated Global Terrorist,? the US State Department said in a statement.

The designation slaps sanctions on ?foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States,? the statement read.

US sanctions Kashmiri leader Syed Salahuddin

Salahuddin in September vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict

The new sanctions mean American citizens are generally barred from doing business with Salahuddin, and all his assets subject to United States jurisdiction are blocked.

The designation was announced just before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due at the White House for his first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump.

After the meeting, a statement issued by the White House stated that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries.

The two leaders also "called on all nations to resolve territorial and maritime disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law," the statement said further.

"Both our nations have been struck by the evils of terrorism, and we are both determined to destroy terrorist organisations and the radical ideology that drives them. We will destroy radical Islamic terrorism. Our militaries are working every day to enhance cooperation between our military forces. And next month, they will join together with the Japanese navy to take place in the largest maritime exercise ever conducted in the vast Indian Ocean," said Trump, according to the joint press statement released by the White House.