China has again blocked the initiative to tag JeM chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist".
China on Wednesday blocked a move by three permanent members of the UN Security Council to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This was the fourth time that China has blocked the move India has been long demanding. The External Affairs Ministry, in a statement said India was disappointed and "We will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice."
Following is the full text of the External Affairs Ministry statement:
The ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee (1267 Sanctions Committee), upon completion of the no-objection period on 13 March 2019, was not able to come to a decision on the proposal for listing Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi under the UN Sanctions regime, on account of a member placing the proposal on hold.
We are disappointed by this outcome. This has prevented action by the international community to designate the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a proscribed and active terrorist organization which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February 2019.
We are grateful for the efforts of the Member States who moved the designation proposal and the unprecedented number of all other Security Council members as well as non-members who joined as co-sponsors.
We will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice.