India upset as China again shields JeM chief Masood Azhar

New Delhi: China has placed a “permanent block” on the current Indian move in the UN to designate terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as terrorist, after which India lashed out, terming it “an unfortunate blow to the concerted efforts to effectively counter all forms of terrorism, and (which) confirms prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism”.

New Delhi also said it is concerned at the “surprising” Chinese decision and that it had expected Beijing to be “more understanding”  of the need to tackle the scourge of terrorism. Sources said that though India is extremely unhappy, it is unlikely to escalate the situation since it does not want Sino-Indian ties to be held hostage to the Masood Azhar issue. In fact, while the Indian reaction to the developments highlighted its disappointment, New Delhi did not launch a strong frontal attack on Beijing, leaving the door open for further parleys. India is likely to continue its efforts to persuade China, sources said.

Beijing, however, is unlikely to oblige New Delhi even in the future since it has made huge investments on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and is completely backing Islamabad. January 31 was the deadline for China to take a final decision on the matter. An indication of China’s thinking had come a few days ago when Beijing said its views on the Masood Azhar issue had not changed.

If India wants to try again, it has to place a fresh proposal before the UN but there appears to be a scepticism in the Indian government circles about the wisdom of immediately going in for such a move. The Chinese move diplomatically has come as a huge boost to Pakistan.

With China blocking India’s proposal, which was submitted in February to the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, sources pointed out that all members of the 15-nation Sanctions Committee barring China supported the Indian move, which could not go through because of the Chinese veto. All 15 nations on the committee are members of the UN Security Council, where China, as a permanent member, has the veto power. After its submission, China twice imposed “technical” hold earlier on the Indian proposal.

In its reaction, the MEA said, “We note with concern China’s decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, which had been presented nine months ago and received the strong backing of all other members of the committee. The international community is aware that the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is proscribed by the UN, has been responsible for innumerable terrorist attacks on India, including the Pathankot Air Base attack. The inability of the international community to list its leader, Masood Azhar, is an unfortunate blow to the concerted efforts to effectively counter all forms of terrorism.”

The MEA added, “We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism. On our part, we will continue to push forward with resolute determination through the use of all options available with us to bring perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice.”