Sidestepping the issue of the United Nations Sanctions Committee not mentioning Pulwama incident in the proposal for listing Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” on Wednesday, India on Thursday asserted the incident in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack did play a role in the listing. Stating this here, the External Affairs Ministry also said India did not offer anything to China and said New Delhi does not negotiate on matters of national security.
The assertion about Pulwama came after Pakistan claimed that it agreed to Azhar’s listing after all “political references”, including attempts to link him to the Pulwama attack, were removed from the proposal to designate him a global terrorist. Islamabad has repeatedly brushed aside any proof India cited that links Pakistan-based terror groups with attacks in India.
“The designation is not based on the basis of a specific incident, but on the basis of evidence which we have shared with members of the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee, linking Azhar to several acts of terrorism,” ministry spokes person Raveesh Kumar said here at a media briefing.
He said the notification broadly covers all terrorist acts. “Elements are being introduced by Pakistan to divert attention from this huge diplomatic setback,” Kumar said. Besides the Pulwama suicide attack of February 14, Azhar had been involved in many terror strikes in India -- including on Parliament House, Pathankot Air Force base and the Army camps in Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked whether India offered something to China for Azhar’s listing, he asserted that India does not negotiate on matters related to national security. “Our objective was to ensure designation of Masood Azhar as global terrorist,” he said. The Pulwama terror attack played a role in Azhar’s designation, the spokesperson said, adding that China’s support to Azhar’s listing will contribute to better Sino-India ties.
In a huge diplomatic victory for India, the UN Sanctions Committee on Wednesday designated Azhar as global terrorist after China lifted its hold on a proposal to ban him. France, the UK and the US had moved a fresh proposal to declare Azhar as global terrorist by the UN in the wake of the February 14
Pulwama terror attack. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack.
However, China put a technical hold on the proposal, blocking it for a fourth time to designate Azhar a global terrorist. India had termed the Chinese move as “disappointing.” On Wednesday, China lifted its hold from the proposal.
A United Nations Security Council(UNSC)designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo. An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.
In 2009, India first moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar a global terrorist. In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 -- the United States, the United Kingdom and France -- in the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again.
However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked India’s proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
France welcomed the UN decision and said it “signals the successful realisation” of its efforts. “For many years, French diplomacy has been relentlessly pleading for sanctioning Azhar, “head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs of France.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet message Congrats to our team @USUN for their work in negotiating JEM’s Masood Azhar’s #UN designation as a terrorist. This long-awaited action is a victory for American diplomacy and the international community against terrorism, and an important step towards peace in South Asia. On Wednesday, the US had said blacklisting of the JeM chief demonstrates international commitment to rooting out terrorism in Pakistan.