NEW DELHI: Finding a common cause with India, the US moved the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for proscribing Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar — only to be blocked again by China.
According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN’s Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of January to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after “consultations” between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free.
The US move to tighten its noose around Azhar by putting him in the banned terrorists list of the UN Security Council’s 1267 resolution came weeks after India’s efforts to get him declared a terrorist came to zilch due to Beijing’s adamant stand.
India holds Azhar responsible for many terrorist acts in the country, including the December 13, 2001, attack on Parliament and January 2, 2016, Pathankot airbase attack.
“We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in response to the development. However, he did not
elaborate when and where the issue was taken up with China.
The inclusion of Azhar in the terrorist list will put sanctions on his travel, freeze his accounts and put him on the radar of international anti-terror agencies. The issue continues to remain a thorn
in India-China relations with New Delhi terming it Beijing’s double standards in the fight against terrorism.
China’s first veto on India’s attempt to get Azhar blacklisted came in April last. China was the only country in the 15-member UNSC to oppose the application, even as countries like Saudi Arabia backed India. India has reached out to China on numerous occasions on the issue.