China blocks India's bid to blacklist JeM chief

Delhi decries Beijing's double standards

In a diplomatic setback, China on Friday finally blocked India’s proposal to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist under the United Nations, triggering angry reactions from New Delhi.

Officials in the national capital waited with bated breath as China’s “technical hold” on India’s bid to bring Azhar under the UN sanctions is set to expire on December 31. Their hopes were, however, dashed as China rejected the proposal, submitted by India in February to the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, after diplomatic dialogue for 10 months.

“The inability of the international community to list Masood Azhar is an unfortunate blow to the concerted efforts to effectively counter all forms of terrorism, and confirms prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism,” Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

All individuals and entities listed by the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN are subjected to international sanctions, including travel restrictions and measures curbing financial transactions.

“We note with concern China’s decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, which had been presented nine months ago and had received the strong backing of all other members of the committee,” he said. Swarup said the international community was aware that JeM, which was proscribed by the United Nations, had been responsible for innumerable terrorist attacks on India, including the one on the Pathankot airbase.

Following the Pathankot episode, New Delhi launched a fresh move to enlist Azhar in the UN list as he was indicted by the National Investigation Agency as the brain behind the audacious strike on the Indian military establishment.

Beijing blocked the move in early April. It was only due to China’s opposition that the UN panel had to put India’s plea on a “technical hold” for six months. China – one of the five permanent members of the Security Council – later managed to get the “technical hold” extended for three more months, beginning on October 1.

China has been persistently shielding terrorists based in its “all-weather friend” Pakistan from UN sanctions and this turned into a major irritant in the communist country’s relations with India.