China blocks move to sanction LeT terrorist, Hafiz son at UNSC

As a permanent member of the Security Council, China used a so-called “technical hold” to stop the listing of Talha Saeed, the son of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, and Shahid Mahmood as global terrorists

New Delhi: China has blocked a joint move by India and the US to sanction Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders Talha Saeed and Shahid Mahmood at the United Nations Security Council, taking the total number of terrorist designations it has stymied since June to five.

India designated Saeed as a terrorist in April this year, while he was listed as a global terrorist by the US treasury department in August 2012. At that time, the US described Saeed has been a “prominent leader within LeT since early 2005” (AFP)

As a permanent member of the Security Council, China used a so-called “technical hold” to stop the listing of Saeed, the son of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, and Mahmood as global terrorists, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

This was the same measure used by China to block India-US proposals to designate LeT leader Abdul Rehman Makki in June, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Abdul Rauf Azhar in August, and LeT operative Sajid Mir in September. A “technical hold” can last for up to six months at a time under the Security Council’s procedures, and it effectively blocks terrorist designation proposals until the measure is withdrawn.

India designated Saeed as a terrorist in April this year, while he was listed as a global terrorist by the US treasury department in August 2012. At that time, the US described Saeed has been a “prominent leader within LeT since early 2005”. It said Saeed used his position to “acquire facilities on behalf of LeT” and worked on websites to support the terror group’s media operations, indoctrination and propaganda programme.

Besides running LeT’s radio operations and working for the group’s main magazine, Saeed traveled extensively across Pakistan to speak on behalf of the organisation. He was responsible for recruiting members and supporters for LeT and was part of the group’s “executive board” in the foreign relations department, In late 2007, Saeed was part of a LeT team that travelled to West Asia seeking support.

Mahmood was designated a “specially designated global terrorist” by the US treasury department in December 2016, and India and the US had proposed his listing under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. According to US authorities, Mahmood has had a significant role in LeT’s overseas operations, including in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Syria and Turkey.

China’s move came even as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres participated in a ceremony in Mumbai to pay tribute to victims of the terrorist attacks in India’s financial hub in November 2008 that was carried out by a 10-member team of the LeT. Guterres described terrorism as “absolute evil” and the Mumbai attacks as “barbaric”, and said all countries must collectively combat the menace.

While listing Mahmood as a global terrorist in 2016, the US treasury department said the Karachi-based LeT leader had been affiliated with the group since 2007 and had served during 2015-16 as vice chairman of the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), which has been designated as a front for the LeT by the US and the UN.

Mahmood was also “part of LeT’s overseas operations team led by Sajid Mir”, the US treasury department said in a statement in 2016.

“While part of LeT’s operations team, Mahmood’s areas of responsibility included Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. Additionally, in August 2013, Mahmood was instructed to forge covert links with Islamic organisations in Bangladesh and Burma, and as of late 2011, Mahmood claimed that LeT’s primary concern should be attacking India and America,” the statement said.

Since 2012, Mahmood routinely travelled overseas and “worked with international organisations on behalf of LeT to conduct business for the group in FIF’s name”. While acting as the head of FIF in Karachi, Mahmood went to Bangladesh to “distribute funds to a Burmese migrant camp for the purpose of facilitating LeT recruitment”.

In August 2012, Mahmood, while in-charge of the Sindh chapter of FIF, “led a LeT delegation to Burma, and in mid-2014, he travelled to Syria and Turkey and was subsequently appointed to lead FIF efforts in both countries”. Mahmood also travelled to Bangladesh and Gaza on behalf of FIF, the statement added.

While responding to China blocking efforts by India and its partners to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN Security Council, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told a news conference in September that the listing of terrorists is done because these individuals are a threat to the entire international community.

“So it is not something which countries necessarily do in pursuit of a narrow national agenda. If somebody blocks listing, particularly in cases where the merits of going ahead are very apparent, I think they do so frankly at peril to their own interests and to their own reputation,” he said at the time.

Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong has contended that UN Security Council members have the right to use a “technical hold” on terrorist listing applications under the rules of the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The Chinese side “needs more time to evaluate the relevant listing applications” and this was being done in line with relevant rules and procedures, he told reporters recently.