India asks China to back UN plea on JeM leader

New Delhi: India on Monday asked China to support the pending application in the UN to designate Pakistan-based JeM terror group leader Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, officials said.

It also asked Beijing not to give shelter to hardline Ulfa leader Paresh Baruah on its soil, they said.

The two key issues were raised at the first India-China high level meeting on bilateral security cooperation which was co-chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Zhao Kezhi, state councilor and minister of public security, China, here.

“The key concerns of both the countries were flagged and both the sides assured each other full cooperation,” an official, who was part of the Indian delegation, said.

The key Indian concerns are China’s objection to the application to designate Jaish-e-Moha-mmed chief Azhar as terrorist under the Al Qaeda Sanctions Comm-ittee of the United Nations Security Council, frequent visit of Ulfa leader Paresh Baruah to China and smuggling of arms and narcotics to the Northeast, the official said.

A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked the bid at the United Nations to list Azhar as global terrorist.

The official said that Chinese concerns inclu-ded insurgency in Xinji-ang by Uyghur extremists. The home ministry said in a statement that the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest, including bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and welcomed increased security cooperation between India and China.