United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members, including USA, brought a resolution asking for a UNSC vote to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masud HYPERLINK “https://m.economictimes.com/topic/Masood-Azhar” HYPERLINK “https://m.economictimes.com/topic/Masood-Azhar”Aj HYPERLINK “https://m.economictimes.com/topic/Masood-Azhar”har as a global terrorist. This possible move comes after China, for the fourth time, blocked the resolution on Azhar under the 1267 Sanctions Committee list. A UNSC vote will not have the teeth of a resolution under the 1267 Sanctions Committee, which would have resulted in a travel ban on Azhar and freezing of his assets. But senior officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a UNSC vote designating the JeM chief a terrorist will have a “significant naming and shaming effect”.
However, China, as a permanent member of UNSC, vetoes such a proposal as well.
US diplomats, followed China’s fourth blocking of the 1267 resolution, are of the view that Washington are now forced to pursue other actions at the UNSC as Beijing continues with this policy. Asking for a vote on declaring Azhar a terrorist falls under this ambit. India’s diplomats found most UNSC permanent and non-permanent members casted vote for such a resolution. Among nonpermanent members, Germany, Poland and Belgium were cosponsors to the 1267 resolution, as were Australia, Bangladesh, Italy and Japan. Russia, besides the UK, France and the US, were cosponsors among permanent UNSC members.
“If China was serious about counter-terrorism, it hadn’t protected terrorists from Pakistan or any other country from being held accountable to the Council. Because China continued to block Azhar’s designation as a terrorist, responsible member states are forced to pursue other actions at the Security Council.” There’s also an attempt made by the European Union, led by Germany and France, to list Azhar as a terrorist under an EU India list. This would ensure that Azhar will in all practical purposes be a “designated terrorist” in the EU and India. “China may stall the process in UNSC but a listing by the EU will be effective to an extent and it will also be a signal to the world. The initial process towards this has been launched,” Whereas, Russia indicated it will like to work more with India on the Azhar issue at the UN.
China on Thursday said it needs more time to conduct a ‘thorough investigation.’ “China’s stand is in line with the rules, procedures of the UN sanctions committee. The technical hold is to ensure that China wants enough time to study the matter,”
