Won’t allow our soil to be used by any terror outfit: Hasina to Modi

DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday assured her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi that her government would never allow the country’s soil to be used by any terrorist organisation under its “zero tolerance policy”. Dhaka was firmly committed to stamp out terrorism from the South Asian region through bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation, she said after jointly inaugurating four projects in Bangladesh with Prime Minister Modi through video-conferencing. BEIJING: Amid reports that the resolution to declare Pakistanbased Jaish-e-mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist would come up in the UN Security Council (UNSC) on March 13, China on Monday said “a responsible solution” can only come through discussions.

Beijing also said security issues constituted an “important topic” in its talks to ease tensions between Pakistan and India following the Pulwama terror attack.

The US, the UK and France had moved a proposal at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after the Pulwama terrorist attack to designate the chief of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-mohammed (JEM) which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack, as a global terrorist.

According to reports the resolution was expected to be taken by the 1267 committee of the UNSC on March 13. China, which has blocked three times such moves by India and other members of the UNSC, is yet announce its stand.

Asked about India’s appeal and China’s stand on the issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media here, “First I would like to say that the UNSC as a main body of the UN has strict standards and rules of procedures. Some reports have knowledge of inside information the UNSC. I don’t know that can be counted as an evidence,” he said.

“China’s position on the designation of a terrorist by the 1267 Sanctions Committee is consistent and clear. China adopted a responsible attitude, follows the rules of the procedure of the committee and participated in the discussions in a responsible manner. Only through discussions can we come up with a responsible solution,” he said.

Recently Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou travelled to Pakistan and held talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army c hi e f Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and other officials.

India on Saturday said all the UNSC members were aware of the JEM training camps and the presence of Azhar in Pakistan, and urged the nations to desig-