Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday, 4 May, slammed the BJP and its leaders on the issue of UN designating JeM chief Masood Azhar as a ‘global terrorist’.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not forget that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and its militant Zakiur-Rehman Lakhvi were named as a global terrorists during UPA's rule.
"Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person," Chidambaram said during a press conference in Jaipur, as per ANI.
Slamming the PM for taking credit for Azhar’s designation by the UN, Chidambaram said: "We (Congress) started the process in 2009 to name Azhar as a global terrorist, 10 years later, the process was completed. Modi is only talking about the last scene of the story. It is like going to a movie and only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?”
“Where was Azhar in 1999, he was in an Indian jail. Who released Azhar in 1999, who put him in a plane and treat him as a special guest,” he added.
The 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.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)