MEA ‘Disappointed’ as China Once Again Blocks Bid to Ban Azhar
China put a techincal hold on a proposal in the UN Security Council to ban Masood Azhar.
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For the fourth time on Wednesday, 13 March, China blocked India's bid to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. It put a technical hold on a proposal in the UN Security Council.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement said, “We are disappointed. We will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorists involved in attacks on Indian citizens are brought to justice.”
"We are grateful to all countries who supported the bid to designate Azhar as global terrorist," MEA said.
China’s Stand Contrary to Achieving Regional Stability: US
The US, who is a permanent member of the council, has also reacted to China’s stand and said, “The US and China share a mutual interest in achieving regional stability and peace, and a failure to designate Masood Azhar runs counter to this goal.”
The US Embassy spokesperson, however, refused to comment on the UN sanctions committee deliberations saying they are “confidential” and added that “we will continue working with the sanctions committee to ensure that the designations list is updated and accurate.”
China Puts a Hold on the Bid for the Fourth Time
The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after a suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 44 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, leading to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan.
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 pm local time (New York) Wednesday, 13 March, (12:30 am IST Thursday, 14 March).
Just before the close of the deadline, China put a hold on the proposal. The proposal was the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist.
(With inputs from PTI)
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