China blocks proposal to brand Masood Azhar as global terrorist

The proposal to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was moved by France, the UK and the US.

NEW YORK (Dunya News) – China on Wednesday again blocked an attempt to brand Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a global terrorist.

The proposal to designate Masood Azhar as global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27.

On February 19, a Chinese state-run newspaper reported that India must self-introspect its anti-terrorism policy rather than blaming Pakistan for the Pulwama suicide bombing and China for blocking efforts to list Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist without proof.

According to a comment piece in the Chinese newspaper Global Times, India failed to provide "solid evidence" against Azhar and said China rightly practised caution against listing him as a terrorist.

“Without solid evidence, India has long accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorist attacks by Jaish-e-Mohammed and other militant groups and China of providing uncritical support for Pakistan. Instead of simply blaming other countries, especially Pakistan and China, the Indian government should make more self-introspection on its anti-terrorism policy and dwell more on how to better administer the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.”

The comment piece advised New Delhi to resort to quiet diplomacy instead of extensively directing aggressive rhetoric to pressurize Beijing, the Azhar issue could have been better addressed.