China defends blocking bid to sanction Masood
Azhar is accused of masterminding several deadly terror attacks in India
WASHINGTON: China’s foreign minister Wang Yi defended Beijing’s repeated blocking of efforts by India and other countries to sanction Jaish-e-mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar at the UN, saying there is no “consensus” or “irrefutable evidence” to take the matter forward.
A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked moves by India, the US, the UK and France to designate Azhar a global terrorist under the Al-qaeda Sanctions Committee. It has repeatedly argued that there is a need for further discussions on the issue.
Wang was responding to a question at an event organised on Friday by the think tank Council on Foreign Relations on why China defends terrorists based in Pakistan from UN Security Council resolutions and whether its cooperation with India will extend to cooperation against terrorism based in Pakistan.
China, he replied, would be “fair” on the matter of listing terror organizations at the UN.
“If all parties come to a consensus, we will support it. But it is the parties that are rightly concerned who are not coming around to the same conclusion, like India and Pakistan don’t have the same conclusions. Then what should we do?” he said.
“Maybe we can set aside this a little bit and when there is a consensus we can move this forward. I think that is a reasonable approach.”
Without naming Azhar or JEM, he said accusations that “these people are terrorists” should be based on “solid facts and proof”. He added, “If there is irrefutable evidence, no one can turn its back on it. I don’t think Pakistan will do that.”
Differences between China and other countries on this issue “are very complicated because they involve some historical background and territorial issues”, he said. The process can be pushed forward if the “parties directly concerned” come to a consensus, and China “will stay in close touch with India on this issue”, he said.
Azhar is accused of masterminding several deadly terror attacks in India, including one on a military base at Uri in Kashmir in 2016 in which 17 security personnel were killed. The JEM, founded by Azhar, is already in the UN’S list of banned terror groups.
Wang called for a “fair judgment” of Pakistan’s role in the fight against terrorism, saying Beijing has been encouraging Islamabad in its efforts to fight terror.