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On China shielding Masood Azhar’s brother, India says ‘most uncalled for’
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Abdul Rauf Azhar, the younger brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar, was already proscribed under Indian and US laws
NEW DELHI: India on Friday said China’s blocking of a bid to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar at the UN Security Council was “most uncalled for” and New Delhi will continue its efforts to bring terrorists to justice.
China on Wednesday blocked a move by India and the US to designate Azhar, the younger brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar and deputy leader of the terrorist group, by placing a “technical hold” on the proposal on the ground that more time is needed to study the matter.
Azhar, also known as Abdul Rauf Asghar, has already been designated a terrorist under the domestic laws of India and the US. He has been accused of involvement in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1998, the terror attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and attacks at an Indian Army camp in Kathua in 2014 and at an airbase in Pathankot in 2016.
In the first formal response to the development from the Indian side, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a weekly media briefing that India had noted with “regret” the technical hold placed by China on the listing proposal.
“He [Azhar] has been proscribed under Indian and US laws already, and therefore the placing of the technical hold against such a wanted terrorist is most uncalled for,” Bagchi said.
“India will continue pursuing its principled position of bringing these terrorists to justice, including through the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Regime,” he said.
Without naming China, Bagchi reiterated concerns expressed recently by India’s envoy to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, on “double standards” in dealing with terrorism and the politicisation of the process for sanctioning terrorist individuals and entities at the UN Security Council.
“It is unfortunate that when it comes to our collective battle against terrorism, the international community has been unable to speak in one common voice,” he said.
Bagchi referred to Kamboj’s speech at a Security Council open debate on the threat of terrorist acts on August 9, wherein she had flagged several concerns.
“There should be no double standards in dealing with terrorists...The practice of placing holds and blocks without giving any justification must end. 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,” he said, quoting from the speech.
“Double standards and continuing politicisation have rendered the credibility of the sanctions regime at an all-time low,” he added.
This was the second time in less than two months that China blocked an India-US bid to designate a Pakistan-based terrorist. In June, China placed a technical hold on a move to sanction Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Abdul Rehman Makki, the brother-in-law of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed.
China also blocked proposals to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar at the UN sanctions committee at least four times over the course of a decade, before finally relenting in May 2019.
