India blames China for lack of consensus on Jaish chief
BEIJING: India on Wednesday dismissed China’s contention that it has not furnished enough evidence against Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar, with foreign secretary S Jaishankar telling senior Chinese officials that the burden of proof is not on New Delhi.
China, a veto-wielding UN member, has blocked multiple efforts by India and other nations to sanction Azhar — a citizen of its ally Pakistan — at the world body.
The Indian official also reiterated India’s concerns on the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, making it clear that it was a “sovereignty” issue and the basis for New Delhi’s refusal to be a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an inter-continental connectivity project floated by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Last week, China contended India is yet to provide “solid evidence” against Azhar.
“Correct. There isn’t a consensus because China hasn’t joined it,” Jaishankar said when asked about the issue. India’s understanding is that there is “overwhelming support” in the world community for its position.
The international community is convinced of Azhar’s culpability and it was the US, UK and France which had moved the latest proposal at the UN Security Council to get the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief proscribed, Jaishankar said, addressing the media after his meeting with Chinese officials.
Jaishankar is leading a senior delegation including four joint secretaries to meet Chinese counterparts for the first round of the upgraded strategic dialogue.
“We pointed out that this time around, it’s not India but other countries (which mooted the proposal). So, there is a body of world opinion out there (against Azhar),” Jaishankar said after his strategic dialogue with executive vice-foreign minister, Zhang Yesui.
Besides the issue of Azhar, the Indian side also took up China’s decision to block India’s application to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Jaishankar said China was “open” to India’s joining but said there were procedures and processes to be completed.
China, Jaishankar said, brought up the issue of President Pranab Mukherjee meeting Tibetan leader Dalai Lama in December – the first time a serving president had met him at a formal event at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in decades. “The issue did come up. I reiterated that this was a meeting of Nobel Laureates for a non-political purpose which (the event) was to do with child labour. So, they should not read any political meaning into it,” the foreign secretary said.