India slams China for block UNSC bid to block JeM leader

In sharply critical speech at Security Council, India’s UN envoy Ruchira Kamboj slammed China for blocking bid to list Pakistan-based terror out Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) deputy chief as terrorist.

JeM chief Masood Azhar’s younger brother Asghar has been involved in various terror attacks, including the hijacking of Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 in 1999, the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, and the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.

Top diplomatic source reportedly told news portal The Print that India on Thursday had moved a proposal — co-sponsored by the US — at the UN Security Council to get Asghar listed by the group’s 1267 Sanctions Committee. But China placed a “technical hold” on the proposal while all other 14 member states of the UN Security Council were “supportive of the listing proposal”, the source added.

However, this is not the first time that Beijing has obstructed the listing of terrorists in the 1267 Sanctions Committee. In June 2022, China had placed on hold a joint proposal by India and the US to list the deputy chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Abdul Rehman Makki, in the sanctions list. Makki planning and executing attacks on India, including 26/11.

India is the Chair of the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee for the year and is scheduled to host diplomats from the US, China and Russia on 28-29 October for a special meeting on counter-terrorism that will be held in Mumbai and New Delhi, according to The Print report.

India envoy underscored that the credibility of the United Nations’ sanctions regime is at an ‘all time low’ and targeted China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Nations Secretariat over ‘selectivity’ and ‘double standards’ against terrorism,” according to a report in The Hindu.

Delivering a speech on ‘Threat to international peace and security caused terrorist’, the Indian envoy said: “The practice of placing holds and blocks on listing requests without any justification must end.” She added: “It is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being placed on hold.”

“We need political will to defeat terrorism. There can be no justification for terrorist acts, much less glorification of a terrorist, a tendency which we have unfortunately seen in recent years in some parts of the world.” – INDIA NEWS STREAM