China defends help to Masood
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Washington,
Sept. 29: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has defended B e i j i n g ’ s r e p e a t e d blockage of India’s bids at the United Nations to list chief of Pakistanbased militant group Ja i s h - e - M o h a m m e d ( JeM) Azhar Masood as a global terrorist, arguing that the issue lacks “consensus” among the members of the UN Security Council as well as the “directly concerned” parties — India and Pakistan.
Azhar is accused of several deadly terrorist attacks in India, including one on the Uri military base in Kashmir in 2016 in which 17 security personnel were killed.
A veto- wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India’s move — supported by the US, Britain and France — to designate Azhar a terrorist under the Al- Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN’s list of banned terror outfits.
“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,” Wang said on Friday in resp- onse to a question on Chi- na defending Pakistan- based terrorist in the UNSC at a conference organised by the Amer- ican think- tank, Council on Foreign Relations.
He said if the parties “directly concerned” are able to come to a consensus, then “together we will be able to push the process forward”.
“We think that is a better way to go, and we will stay in close touch with India on this issue because we also have very good ties with the Indian side. We hope to see an early consensus, and together we can contribute to the fight against terror, the foreign minister said.
China, a vetowielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, blocked India’s move again to designate Azhar Masood a global terrorist.