ISLAMABAD – China blocked the listing of Pakistan Masood Azhar on UnitedNations terror list.
Masood Azhar is the chief of UN-listed terror group Jaish e Mohammad(JeM), the group responsible for the 14th February Pulwama terror attackthat killed more than 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chinese foreign spokesperson replying to a question on the rationale ofBeijing hold said the country needs more time to study the case.
Lu Kang, spokesperson for Chinese foreign ministry said, “China conducted acomprehensive and in-depth evaluation on the listing applications submittedby the countries concerned in the 1267 Committee. We still need more timeand thus put forward a technical hold, which is in full compliance with therules of procedure of the 1267 Committee of the Security Council.”
Reiterating what Beijing said on Wednesday, the deadline day when listingof Masood Azhar, Kang said, “We sincerely hope that the relevant actions ofthe 1267 Committee can help the countries concerned to resolve the issuethrough dialogue and consultation and avoid adding complex factors thatendanger peace and stability of the region.”
India has already expressed its disappointment on China’s “hold” to Azhar’slisting.
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The United States embassy in Delhi in a statement expressed regret. The USsaid, “With respect to China, the United States and China share a mutualinterest in achieving regional stability and peace, and a failure todesignate Azhar runs counter to this goal.”
US had already made it clear that Masood Azhar is the founder and leader ofand “clearly meets the criteria for designation” by the United Nations.
JeM has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks including the 2001Parliament attack, Pathankote attack and the Pulwama terror attack.
During foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale’s meet with US National securityAdvisor John Bolton terrorism emanating from Pakistan was discussed.
