ISLAMABAD – India said Thursday it was “disappointed” by China againdelaying a bid to blacklist the leader of a Pakistan-based militant groupthat claimed a massive suicide bombing in Kashmir last month.
The blast on February 14 killed 40 Indian troops and triggered tit-for-tatair strikes and an aerial dogfight in the most serious bust-up in yearsbetween New Delhi and Islamabad.
Although the suicide bomber was native to the part of Kashmir that Indiancontrols, the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), one of severalmilitant groups based in Pakistan.
China on Wednesday put on hold a request by Britain, France and the UnitedStates to add the leader of JeM, Masood Azhar, on a UN sanctions blacklistwhich would subject him to a global travel ban, an assets freeze and anarms embargo.
China — an all-weather ally of Pakistan which has blocked three similarmoves — said it needed more time to examine the sanctions requesttargeting Azhar, and asked for a technical hold which could last up to ninemonths.
In a statement, the Indian foreign ministry said it “was disappointed bythe outcome”, adding it would continue to pursue all avenues to make sure”terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens arebrought to justice”.
China has blocked three previous attempts at the committee on sanctionsagainst Al-Qaeda and IS-linked groups to blacklist the JeM leader. Thegroup itself was added to the UN terror list in 2001.
China’s decision was the top news across Indian media on Thursday, with theIndian Express headlining its report: “Jaish chief gets Great Wall ofChina”.
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India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi used the opportunity to mockPrime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking re-election in a nationalballot starting next month.
“Weak Modi is scared of Xi. Not a word comes out of his mouth when Chinaacts against India,” Gandhi tweeted, referring to Chinese President XiJinping.
Regional rivals China and India have longstanding territorial disputes butModi and Xi have tried to patch up ties, banking on their personalchemistry to smoothen differences.
China’s move on Azhar also triggered a storm of anti-Chinese sentiment onTwitter with #BoycottChinaProduct attracting hundreds of tweets.
China is India’s biggest trading partner, but the trade imbalance is skewedheavily in favour of Beijing. – APP/AFP
