Don’t speculate on hold request to sanction Pakistan-based militant, says China

CHINA last Thursday (11) defended its decision to delay a proposal by the United States and India at the UN Security Council to sanction a senior commander in a Pakistan-based militant group.

India and the US want Abdul Rauf Azhar, commander of the

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group, to be subjected to a global travel ban and asset freeze. The move has to be agreed by all 15 members of a Security Council sanctions committee.

“We placed a hold because we need more time to study the case. Placing holds is provided for by the committee guidelines, and there have been quite a number of similar holds by committee members on listing requests,” said a spokesperson for China’s mission to the UN.

When asked for further comment at a regular briefing in Beijing last Thursday, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry defended his country’s track record at the sanctions committee, also known as the 1267 Committee, and asked the media not to “speculate” on its move.

“China has always participated in the work of the 1267 Committee in a constructive and responsible manner in strict accordance with the rules and procedures of the Committee, and we hope that other members will do the same,” foreign ministry Wang Wenbin said.

The US Treasury designated Azhar in 2010, accusing him of urging Pakistanis to engage in militant activities and organise suicide attacks in India.

The US respects other nations’ needs to verify that a sanctions proposal meets their “domestic evidentiary threshold to justify a listing at the UN,” a spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said last Wednesday (10).