China, India in close contact on Masood Azhar

China and India on Thursday said that they were in close contact on the
issue of imposing United Nations’ sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorist leader Masood Azhar.

Hong lei, a spokesman of the Chinese Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Beijing was in close contact with New Delhi on the issue of imposing UN sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.

His comment came a day after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is set to visit China from May 24 to 27, subtly nudged Beijing to change its policy of shielding terrorist leaders based in Pakistan from international sanctions.

“As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China always follows objective and fair attitude to deal with the issue of listing by the 1267 committee (of the council) and we are in close communication with India on this matter,” Hong was quoted in a report from Beijing.

“The anti-terrorism situation has undergone great changes. China, India and all countries have shown greater willingness to counter terrorism,” he added.

Hong’s counterpart, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, too told journalists in New Delhi that India and China were in close contact with each other on the issue of imposing sanctions on Azhar.