United Nations: In yet another setback to India’s bid to designate Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, China put a ‘technical hold’ Wednesday on a proposal in the UN Security Council (UNSC) to ban him following the Pulwama terror attack. The information was passed on to this agency by a diplomat.
The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved February 27 by France, the UK and the US.
The Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee members had 10 working days to raise any objections to the proposal. The no-objection period deadline was scheduled to end at 3.00pm local time (New York) Wednesday, (12.30am IST Thursday).
Just before the close of the deadline, China put a hold on the proposal. The diplomat said China asked for ‘more time to examine’ the proposal.
The proposal was the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. All eyes were on China, which has in the past blocked India’s bids to get Azhar listed as a UN-designated global terrorist thrice.
According to the listing rules of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, if no objection is received by the end of the no-objection period, the decision will be deemed adopted.
As it has done in the past, Beijing put a technical hold on the proposal just as the deadline was about to end.
An inkling of China’s stand on the issue came during Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang’s press conferences conducted Monday and Wednesday in Beijing when he was asked about the proposal to list Azhar as a global terrorist by the UNSC.
“The UN Security Council and its subsidiary bodies are run on strict rules…. We already stressed China’s position on the listing of terrorist organisations and individuals in the UN Security Council 1267 Committee on many occasions,” Lu had said Monday.
On the issue of listing Azhar, he said, “I want to say that China always adopts a responsible attitude, engage in consultations with various parties and properly deal with this issue.”
In 2009, India moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. In 2016 again India moved the proposal with the P3 – the United States, the UK and France in the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016.
In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked India’s proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
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