China, for the fourth time, put a technical hold to tag Jaish-e Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” by the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
The proposal to designate Masood Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by the UK, France and the US on February 27, days after Pulwama terror attack which killed at least 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had claimed the responsibility of the attack.
The ministry of external affairs in a statement said it was disappointed by the outcome.
“The 1267 Sanctions Committee upon completion of the no-objection period on March 13 was not able to come to a decision on the proposal for listing Mohammed Masood Azhar under the UN Sanctions regime, on account of a member placing the proposal on hold,” the statement said.
“We are disappointed by this outcome. This has prevented action by the international community to designate the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a proscribed and active terrorist organization which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14,” it added.
It further said, “We will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice.”
China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council had blocked the move by India and other member nations three times earlier. The last time China blocked the move was in 2016.
Commenting on China blocking to designate Azhar a global terrorist, Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala took to his twitter account and attacked Narendra-Modi government.
“A sad day in the global fight against terrorism! China blocking Masood Azhar’s designation as global terrorist reaffirms Chinese position of being an inseparable ally of terrorism’s breeding ground-Pakistan Sadly, Modiji’s Foreign Policy has been a series of Diplomatic Disasters,” Surjewala tweeted.
