India pushes China to get UN to proscribe Masood Azhar as terrorist, says failure to do so will send a dangerous message

Vikas Swarup on Thursday in a press briefing confirmed that the issue of Chinese stand on JeM and Masood Azhar is being taken up with Chinese government.

India pushes China to get UN to proscribe Masood Azhar as terrorist, says failure to do so will send a dangerous message

New Delhi: In a major development in connection with India's demand of ban on terrorist Masood Azhar, the official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Vikas Swarup on Thursday in a press briefing confirmed that the issue of Chinese stand on JeM and Masood Azhar is being taken up with Chinese government.

Addressing the press during weekly media briefing, Vikas Swarup said, "We conveyed to committee (UN) that it's expected to proscribe Masood Azhar as a terrorist; will send a dangerous message if fails to act."

"14 countries were on one side and 1 country on the other," the MEA spokesperson added on China extending hold on move to ban Masood Azhar.

Vikas Swarup futher added that it is expected to proscribe Masood Azhar under the 1267 sanctions regime, on the basis of our submission, which will send a strong signal to all terror groups that international community will not pursue or tolerate selective approach to terrorism.

Vikas Swarup also spoke on other issues as well.

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"Promoting prosperity with neighbours has been govt’s priority but terror can't be the product exported," Vikas Swarup said.

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"Pakistan has once again self implicated itself,"said Vikas Swarup Nawaz Sharif hailing Burhan Wani in Pak Parliament.

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"Truth comes out no matter how hard one tries to conceal it," Vikas Swarup said.

Earlier, on Wednesday, India had strongly criticised an "unresponsive" Security Council for being indecisive on sanctioning leaders of organisations it itself designates as terrorist entities after China extended its "technical hold" on India's bid for a UN ban against JeM chief Masood Azhar.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin had told the UN General Assembly that the 15- nation Security Council, the "principal organ" tasked with the maintenance of peace and security, has in a variety of ways become "unresponsive to the needs of our time and ineffective to meeting the challenges it is confronted with".

Without naming China, Akbaruddin referred to its technical hold on India's bid against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Azhar, saying the Council is a body that "ponders for six months on whether to sanction leaders of organisations it has itself designated as terrorist entities".

"Then, unable to decide, it gives itself three more months to further consider this issue. One has to expectantly wait for nine months before the process is completed to know if Council members have decided on a single issue," he said in the General Assembly debate on the Report of the Secretary General on the Work of the Organisation here.

On March 31 this year, China - a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council - had blocked India's move to put a ban on Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council.

China was the sole member in the 15-nation UN organ to put a hold on India's application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.

The Chinese technical hold had lapsed on Monday, and had China not raised further objection, the resolution designating Azhar as a terrorist would have been passed automatically.

However, Beijing on Saturday announced the extension of its "technical hold".

"The extended technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang had said in Beijing.

Akbaruddin said in certain instances, the Council does not even begin the nine-month process of identification and listing of publicly announced leaders of listed entities.

"At best, it is now a body that can be described as an interesting and random mix of ad-hocism, scrambling and political paralysis. This global governance architecture now calls for comprehensive reform," the Indian envoy said.

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