lakhvi decision based on 'spirit of fairness': China

Virtually defending its move to block India’s demand in UN to take action against Pakistan for the release of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman lakhvi, China on Thursday said its stand was based on “facts” and in the spirit of “objectiveness and fairness”. “As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China always deals with the 1,267 committee matters based on facts and in the spirit of objectiveness and fairness,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters here on Thursday.

She was responding to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking up the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at Ufa on the sidelines of the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits on Wednesday.Terming Modi-Xi talks as “constructive and inclusive”, she said China has maintained good communication with India and other parties on the lakhvi issue. About India’s concerns over terrorism, she said, “I can tell you that both India and China are victims of terrorism. China is opposed to all forms of terrorism and support the UN playing the leading role in coordinating international cooperation on anti-terrorism. China has actively taken part in global cooperation.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pitched for a united fight against terrorism, without any discrimination between the sponsors, or groups or targeted nations in a clear message to China which recently blocked an Indian proposal at the UN for action against Pakistan over release of 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman lakhvi. “Peace and stability is the foundation for social and economic progress. It is our responsibility that we deal effectively with the current challenge of terrorism,” Modi said, addressing the Summit of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) here.

With Chinese President Xi Jinping listening, he said: “We must unitedly fight against it (terrorism), without any discrimination between groups, or countries, sponsors or targeted countries. We must do this in BRICS as well as UN Security Council and in other groups of nations.”Meanwhile, a day ahead of the scheduled bilateral meeting with his Pakistan counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged pleasantries with his Nawaz Sharif in Ufa on Thursday. The two leaders briefly met each other at a dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, host of the BRICS and SCO summits.

Modi and Sharif will meet officially here tomorrow morning after more than a year, a period that witnessed ups and downs in India-Pak relations over Islamabad’s attitude towards elements instigating terror against India.The Prime Minister while conveying his concerns to Xi told him how the people of India viewed the Chinese action, he said.

later Modi added he had a “comprehensive” meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and both of them are “strongly committed” to take bilateral ties to “new heights”.  “Our meeting was very comprehensive and several issues were discussed, both about India-China ties and global affairs. Both of us are strongly committed to taking India-China ties to new heights and increasing our economic, cultural and people-to-people relations,” Modi said.

At a meeting of the UN Sanctions Committee last month, India had sought action against Pakistan for release of leT commander lakhvi in the 26/11 trial in violation of a UN resolution but the Chinese representatives blocked the move on grounds that New Delhi did not provide sufficient information. Today’s replies by Hua were little more elaborate than the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s earlier replies on the issue.

On July 2, answering questions on the technical hold put by China on the lakhvi issue in UN, Deputy Director General of the Asian Affairs Department of Chinese Foreign Ministry Huang Xilian said the issue should be discussed in the India-China joint mechanism on terrorism between the two countries. “We have mechanism of counter-terrorism consultation between the two ministries” in which it can be discussed, he had said. 

However, in his briefing after Modi-Xi talks last night, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said, “the MEA can discuss with the Embassy (Chinese). There are a range of mechanisms.”China also had put a technical hold earlier on India’s demand for UN Security Council to take action against Hizbul Mujahudeen Chief Syed Salahuddin and leT leader Hafeez Sayed citing rules the UNSC resolution 1267.

In a letter to the current Chair of the UN Sanctions Committee Jim Mclay, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke Mukherjee had said lakhvi’s release by a Pakistani court was in violation of the 1267 UN resolution dealing with designated entities and individuals.