ISLAMABAD – United States has responded over blacklisting of JeM ChiefMasood Azhar at UNSC.
The designation of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UNis a “victory for American diplomacy,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeohas said as he congratulated US’ Mission to the United Nations for theirwork.
The UN sanctions committee on the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda on Wednesdayannounced the designation of Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), overits ties to Al-Qaeda. The JeM has claimed responsibility for the Pulwamasuicide attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers and led to a spike in militarytensions between India and Pakistan.
“Congrats to our team @USUN for their work in negotiating JEM’s MasoodAzhar’s #UN designation as a terrorist. This long-awaited action is avictory for American diplomacy and the international community againstterrorism, and an important step towards peace in South Asia,” Pompeo said.
Reacting to the development, Garrett Marquis, spokesperson of the NationalSecurity Council, White House said: “Designating Azhar demonstratesinternational commitment to rooting out terrorism in Pakistan and bringingsecurity and stability to south Asia”.
The US commends the United Nations Security Council 1267 SanctionsCommittee for the designation of Azhar, the leader of JeM, a UN-designatedterrorist group that was responsible for the February 14 terrorist attackin Kashmir that killed over 40 Indian security personnel, Marquis said in astatement.
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Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said that the JeMhas been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and is a serious threatto regional stability and peace in South Asia.
“The JeM was designated by the United States as a Foreign TerroristOrganization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2001 andhas been listed by the UN since 2001,” she said.
The US also designated Azhar as an SDGT in 2010.
“As JEM’s founder and leader, Azhar clearly met the criteria fordesignation by the UN. This listing requires all the UN member states toimplement an asset freeze, a travel ban, and an arms embargo against Azhar.We expect all countries to uphold these obligations,” Ortagus said.
