New Delhi: The United Nations has, after several rounds of meetings and deliberations over the last couple of years, finally listed Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
Even as China finally lifted its objections to let the designation happen, interestingly, India and Pakistan both claimed victory over the ban on JeM chief.“Decision In Line With India’s Position”
India on its part has said that the decision to designate Azhar is in line with the information that it shared with the Sanctions Committee regarding terrorist activities of Azhar and his outfit. “India will continue with its efforts through international forums to ensure that terrorist organizations and their leaders who cause harm to our citizens are brought to justice,” the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs read.
Further, India also maintained that “Pakistan is mischievously attempting to salvage something out of this huge diplomatic setback for them by diverting the narrative”.
“Pulwama happened to be the latest act of terror but the designation was not based on a specific incident but on the basis of evidence shared with members of the 1267 Sanctions Committee linking Masood Azhar to terrorism. It is not supposed to be a bio-data of a terrorist that all acts of terror committed by him would be listed in the notification. However, all acts of terrorism, including Pulwama, were relevant to the lifting,” sources said.“Masood Azhar Has Been Proscribed Under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act For Sometime Now”
Hours after Azhar was listed as a global terrorist, Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs released a statement saying that Azhar was listed under its Anti-Terrorism Act much before procedures on his listing at the UN had begun, adding that Pakistan was always against the politicisation of the Sanctions Committee. Further, it also said that it “has always advocated the need for respecting these technical rules and regulations” and “maintains that terrorism is a menace to the world”.
Huge victory for Pak Diplomacy at the UN...as superpowers recognise #Kashmirstruggle —paradigm shift in their stance on this basic conflict shows post #Pulwama India suffered irreparable loss of reputation in the world arena.Kudos to all Pak diplomats for their tireless efforts? Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 1, 2019
Pakistan has used the development on Azhar as a way of accusing India of “state sponsored terrorism against Kashmiris”. Interestingly, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal on a Pakistani TV show, Islamabad Views, on Sunday said his country was open to the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief, as long as it was not related to the Pulwama terror attack. The UN sanctions does not link Azhar to Pulwama in any way, which Pakistan has mentioned in its statement.
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