UN Designates Masood Azhar as ‘Global Terrorist’: What Comes Next?

A UNSC designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo.

JeM chief Masood Azhar. 

(Photo: IANS)

In what is being seen as a significant diplomatic win for India, the United Nations on Wednesday, 1 May, designated Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist him.

The move comes a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue. China has blocked the listing of Azhar as a global terrorist four times in the past.

Catch all the live updates on Masood Azhar’s listing here.

Assets Freeze, Travel Ban, Arms Embargo

A UNSC designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.

An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay, the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.

The travel ban entails preventing the entry into, or transit by, all states through their territories by designated individuals.

Under the arms embargo, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related material of all types, spare parts, and technical advice, assistance, or training related to military activities, to designated individuals and entities.

Pakistan on Wednesday said it would "immediately enforce the sanctions" imposed by UN on Masood Azhar and said it agreed to his listing after all "political references," including attempts to link him to the Pulwama attack, were removed from the proposal.

How Effective Would the Listing Be?

In an opinion piece published on 14 March for The Quint, Manoj Joshi, a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, said the following on the issue of Masood Azhar's listing:

The listing by itself does little to restrain either Islamabad or the terrorists. After all it has meant little that Hafiz Saeed has been on the list since 2009, or that the Jaish as an organisation has been on the list since 2001. Terrorism and terrorists are not fought by paper listings, but through kinetic actions.

There is certain value to the listing, but only if it is taken in conjunction with other actions, which include wider diplomacy, covert action, air strikes and ground attacks on terrorist facilities.