China reportedly put on hold the proposal to designate Sajid Mir a global terrorist
India today denounced China's move to block a proposal at the UN to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir, wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as a global terrorist.
In a sharply-worded statement hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the UN on International Yoga Day, India said if the proposal to blacklist the terrorist did not get through despite several member states co-sponsoring it, "we have righteous reasons to believe that something is genuinely wrong with the global counter-terrorism architecture".
India and the US had jointly moved the proposal to blacklist Sajid Mir under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council as a global terrorist and subject him to an assets freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo.
"If we cannot get established terrorists who have been banned across global landscapes proscribed by the United Nations - for petty geopolitical interests - then we really do NOT have the genuine political will to sincerely fight this challenge of terrorism," New Delhi asserted.
India also raised tough questions for the UN. "In this day and age of accountability and transparency, can we have genuine listing proposals blocked without giving any reason for the same?" it asked. Also, "can we allow for the submission of proposals under the garb of anonymity?"
China reportedly first paused the proposal to designate Sajid Mir a global terrorist at the UN in September. It has now blocked it.
Sajid Mir is one of India's most wanted terrorists and has a US bounty of $ 5 million on his head for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed.
Last year, India played an audio clip at a UN meet in Mumbai as proof of Mir's involvement. In the clip, Mir is heard directing the attack on Chabad House, one of the terror targets in the Mumbai attack.
In today's statement, India played the clip again. "Please listen to this sound file recorded even as the terror attacks were unfolding. This is SAJID MIR - directing the terrorists - on the phone - to hunt down foreigners at the Taj Hotel and kill them indiscriminately."
India also urged nations to consider what it called an "increasing disconcerting trend to get religion or one kind of religiophobia inadvertently inserted in the terrorism discourse".
"Representing a pluralistic and diverse democracy, which is home to all religions of the world, it is our considered submission that the United Nations Global counter terrorism architecture must treat all religions equally and avoid any selective singling out that tends to elevate one religion over another," said New Delhi.
In June last year, Mir was jailed for over 15 years in a terror-financing case by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan.
Pakistan had in the past claimed Mir had died, but various nations were skeptical and demanded proof of his death. This became a major sticking point in anti-terror funding body Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s assessment of Pakistan's progress on the action plan last year.