In a huge diplomatic victory for India, the UN Security Council on Wednesday declared Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, a move that was being blocked by China for nearly 10 years.
The decision of the UNSC's 1267 Sanctions Committee came about two and a half months after the JeM carried out the ghastly terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwama killing 40 CRPF personnel, an incident which, however, did not find a mention in the resolution adopted.
India welcomed the decision, saying it was a "step in the right direction to demonstrate the international community's resolve to fight against terrorism and its enablers".
#BREAKING: First statement by India's permenant representative at @UN - @AkbaruddinIndia after Masood Azhar designation as Global Terrorist in UNSC Sanctions List. Thanks UNSC members and other nations for joining fight against terror. pic.twitter.com/XJKTSG4Z9G
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 1, 2019
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the action is "in accordance with India's position and in line with the information that India has shared with the members of the Sanctions Committee regarding terrorist activities" of Azhar and the JeM.
China had been blocking Azhar's listing despite a strong push by the US, UK and France. It had put a "technical hold" on the proposal four times, the latest being in March.
MEA: The 1267 Sanctions Committee’s decision to designate the leader of JeM, Masood Azhar, as a UN proscribed terrorist is a step in the right direction to demonstrate the international community’s resolve to fight against terrorism and its enablers. We welcome the decision.
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2019
After the resolution was adopted by the sanctions Committee, China said it ended its objection after India shared fresh evidence.
"After careful study of the revised materials and taking into consideration the opinions of relevant parties concerned, Chine does not have an objection to the listing proposal," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
An Indian government official on condition of anonymity, said: "It (defending Azhar) was increasingly becoming untenable for the Chinese."
Surgical Strike via @UN!!!! Congratulations Prime Minister @narendramodi, and everybody else involved for this big diplomatic victory against terrorism. This is a great achievement. Not only for India. But for the entire world. #MasoodAzhar pic.twitter.com/f0zkcz0mXj
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) May 1, 2019
The Committee said Azhar was sanctioned pursuant to him being "associated with Al-Qaida for 'participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of', 'supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material to', 'recruiting for', 'otherwise supporting acts or activities of', and 'other acts or activities; indicating association with Jaish-i-Mohammed".
Former PM Dr.Manmohan Singh to ANI on UNSC listing Masood Azhar as a Global Terrorist: I am happy that it has materialised pic.twitter.com/l6gCJNaFmQ
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2019
It noted that Azhar had founded Jaish-i-Mohammed upon his release from prison in India in 1999 in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Azhar has also financially supported the JeM since its founding, the committee said while giving reasoning for the action.
It also pointed out that the UN Security Council had listed JeM on October 17, 2001, as being associated with Al Qaida, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of", "supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to" or "otherwise supporting acts or activities of" Al Qaida, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on UNSC listing #MasoodAzhar as a Global Terrorist: In India's fight against terrorism, this is an important achievement. For the last one decade, India was making diplomatic efforts towards this goal. It'll help bring Masood Azhar&JeM to justice pic.twitter.com/GwvQBKcUcl
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2019
Azhar is also "a former leader of the terrorist group Harakat ul-Mujahidin /HuM, aka Harakat ul-Ansar; most of these groups' members subsequently joined JEM under Azhar's leadership", it said.
"In 2008, JeM recruitment posters contained a call from Azhar for volunteers to join the fight in Afghanistan against Western forces," the statement said.
The action will mean that Azhar's assets will be frozen by the UN member countries and his travel will be barred in these nations.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said the development was a "significant outcome" for India "because we have been at it for several years".
#WATCH: "UNSC has listed JeM's #MasoodAzhar as a Global Terrorist. In our fight against terrorism, it is a big victory," says, PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/262cSkV68t
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2019
He noted that the first attempt in this regard was made by India in 2009 and "more recently, we have been persistent, diligent and in a subterranean manner making all our efforts towards this goal. Today, this goal stands achieved".
Akbaruddin expressed gratitude to "the many many countries which were supportive of this effort, that is, the USA, UK and France" and "several countries within the (UN Security) Council and outside the Council who came forward without any restraints and supported this Indian effort and not tolerating a terrorist".
An Indian official, on condition of anonymity, explained that "to say that Beijing blacklisted Azhar under US pressure was not the only factor. But the Americans going about the 1267 Committee and circulating their own draft at the UN Security Council would have surely concerned the Chinese".
UN designation of Masood Azhar as a terrorist is a big, and long-awaited gain for India. Should make Pakistan think again why nearly two dozen UN designated global terrorists belong there and move freely.
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) May 1, 2019
Or, as ISPR Chief Maj-Gen Ghafoor said Monday, Pakistan won’t change..
"At the Security Council, the Chinese would have had to explain its position if they vetoed the resolution which is not the case at the 1267 Committee."
China had indicated on Tuesday that it would no more block the resolution, which was initially moved by India, as its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the "relevant consultations" at the Sanctions Committee had made "some progress" and the issue would be "properly resolved".
JeM has carried out umpteen terror attacks in India, including the one on Parliament on December 13, 2001.
The latest outrageous action by the outfit was in Pulwama on February 14, when a suicide bomber of JeM rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, killing 40 security personnel.
After the NDA govt let off Masood Azhar in 1999, India has been fighting for him to be declared a global terrorist since 2009 when the UPA govt first initiated it. We welcome the Security Council's decision & hope this brings justice to the families of those that lost their lives
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 1, 2019
France, which had been vigorously pushing for listing of Azhar, immediately welcomed the decision of the 1267 Sanctions Committee, saying it signals the "successful realization" of its efforts.
"France welcomes the designation today, by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee, of Mr Masood Azhar on the UN's ISIL (Da'esh) and Al Qaida Sanctions List," said a statement issued by the spokesperson of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs soon after the action by the world body was announced.
The statement said for many years now, French diplomacy has been "relentlessly pleading" for sanctioning Azhar, "head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack last February".
I've been a critic of Modi but I am not going to beat around the bush and desperately find reasons to deny him the credit he deserves. He's pulled off a spectacular coup on #MasoodAzhar and PM must be credited with this diplomatic win. Really well done.
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) May 1, 2019
"This decision taken at the United Nations Security Council signals the successful realisation of our efforts," the spokesperson said, adding that France had adopted national sanctions against Azhar on March 15.
"France remains mobilised at all levels and all fora to take effective measures against terrorism," the statement added.
We welcome the decision of the 1267 Sanctions Committee to designate the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad, Masood Azhar, as a UN proscribed terrorist.https://t.co/Mj2zmljd5a pic.twitter.com/ewUpwEQ43E
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 1, 2019
PAKISTAN TRIES FACE-SAVER AFTER AZHAR'S UNSC LISTING
An embarrassed Pakistan on Wednesday said the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist had been agreed upon after "all political references, including removal of attempts to link it with the terror attack in Pulwama and maligning the struggle of the Kashmiris".
The United Nations Security Council's 1267 Sanctions Committee made the declaration after China, which had blocked the proposal four times earlier, lifted its "technical hold" amidst intense pressure from the UNSC's other permanent members like the US, the UK and France.
Pakistan is home to 22 UN-designated terrorist entities and nearly half of all the UN-listed individual terrorists. UN sanctions today against Masood Azhar reinforce Pakistan’s position as a mecca of terrorism. The world has enough leverage to force change in debt-ridden Pakistan
— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) May 1, 2019
"The current listing proposal has been agreed after all political references, including removal of attempts to link it with Pulwama and maligning the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiris for realisation of the right to self-determination," said Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal.
The action, a huge diplomatic victory for India, will mean that Pakistan-based JeM chief's assets will be frozen by the UN member countries and his travel will be barred in these nations.
The rest of the opposition must be wondering if it will ever catch a break. Every time the BJP campaign seems to be flagging it gets a shot in the arm. The #MasoodAzhar development in the UN today couldn’t have come at a better time for the Modi ji’s re-election campaign.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 1, 2019
The spokesperson said his country "has always advocated the need for respecting these (UNSC) technical rules and regulations and has opposed politicisation of the Sanctions Committee. However, the earlier proposals to list Masood Azhar failed to generate the requisite consensus in the Sanctions Committee as the information did not meet its technical criteria".
He said, Pakistan maintained that "terrorism is a menace to the world".
The Indian media's attempts "to build a narrative claiming it (the listing) as a 'victory' for India and validation of its stance are absolutely false and baseless," Faisal said.
The @UN designating Masood Azhar as a Global Terrorist is another diplomatic milestone achieved by India under PM @narendramodi ji’s able leadership. It not only strengthens India’s position against terrorism but is also an indication of our growing stature in the global arena.
— Chowkidar Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 1, 2019
"Our position is in line with the statements of Prime Minister Imran Khan who clearly stated that there is no space for any proscribed organisation or its affiliates to operate from the Pakistani territory, our resolve for countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our National Action Plan," he said.
Only if Masood Azhar was handsome...
— Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) May 1, 2019
ACCEPTED AZHAR'S LISTING ON FRESH EVIDENCE: CHINA
China on Wednesday said it acted against Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar after India shared fresh evidence on the man who plotted several deadly attacks.
"After careful study of the revised materials and taking into consideration the opinions of relevant parties, China does not have an objection to the listing proposal," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
UN to Masood Azhar:
— Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) May 1, 2019
"Your time is up."
Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had earlier met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed the blacklisting of Azhar. The Indian Foreign Ministry had said all the evidences against Azhar were shared.
China since 2009 had blocked all moves by India, the US and other countries to declare Azhar an international terrorist. His JeM had claimed the responsibility for killing 40 Indian security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in February.
Beijing had placed a "technical hold" on resolutions four times earlier, saying it needed more to study the evidence which were not enough. It had placed the latest technical hold on March 13 on the resolution moved by France with the backing of the US and the UK, only to lift it on Wednesday.
Jaish-e-Muhammad does not exist in Pakistan.
— Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) May 1, 2019
Yet UN designated its chief Masood Azhar, who is unwell and in Pakistan, a global terrorist. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/pY7oK34NkV
Moments after lifting its technical hold on the resolution seeking ban on Azhar at the 1267 Sanctions Committee, Beijing said: "The 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council has detailed criteria for the listing procedures. China always believes that the relevant work should be carried out in an objective, unbiased and professional manner and based on solid evidence and consensus among all parties."
"On this listing issue, China has been communicating with relevant parties in a constructive and responsible fashion. Recently, relevant countries revised and re-submitted the materials for the listing proposal to the 1267 Committee," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar named "global terrorist" by United Nations. Azhar now joins Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who is also designated terrorist under UNSC 1267. pic.twitter.com/dJJUMSQg8U
— Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) May 1, 2019
"The proper settlement of the above-mentioned issue again shows that in international counter-terrorism cooperation, we have to uphold the rules and procedures of relevant UN body, follow the principle of mutual respect, resolve differences and build consensus through dialogue and prevent politicising technical issues."
It also defended Islamabad, saying its close ally had made enormous contribution to combat international terrorism.
"I would like to stress that Pakistan has made enormous contributions in fighting terrorism, which deserves the full recognition of the international community. China will continue to firmly support Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism and extremist forces," said the statement quoting a spokesperson.
