WASHINGTON – The United States has urged China to not blockJaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar listing as global terrorist atthe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting to be held today overAzhar’s designation.
At the behest of Pakistan, China has previously stonewalled efforts todesignate theterror outfit’s chief as a global terrorist at the UNSC byputting technical holds.
Following the Pulwama attacklinkout by the JeM in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir which killedover 40 soldiers, three of the five permanent members of the UN SecurityCouncil – the US, the UK, and France – have initiated renewed efforts toget Azhar proscribed.
China, on the other hand, has not outrightly supported the move until now.
“I would say that the United States and China share a mutual interest inachieving regional stability and peace and that a failure to designateMasood Azhar would run counter to this goal,” Robert Palladino, the USDepartment of State’s Deputy Spokesperson stated on Tuesday.
“JeM is a United Nations-designated terrorist group. Azhar is the founderand the leader of JeM, and he meets the criteria for designation by theUnited Nations.
JeM has been responsible for numerous attacks and is a threat to regionalstability and peace,” Palladino said at a media briefing.