French envoy hails Azhar listing

The blacklisting of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council (UNSC) is a “watershed moment” in the fight against terror and has “concrete consequences”, French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler said.

“This is solid proof of the international community’s strong support to India’s fight against terrorism,” said the envoy whose country played a key role in the matter and initiated the process of getting Azhar sanctioned, with extra push after the Pulwama terror attack.

He said the decision of the UNSC’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to proscribe Azhar was an “important political decision because we have reached a consensus with the members of the Security Council” on acting against terrorism. He said France had unconditionally supported India’s “legitimate” demand for proscribing Azhar as it was “unfair” that while JeM was banned, its leader was not.

“The listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism. I am very proud that France has played a fundamental role in achieving this diplomatic win,” Ziegler said. It was for the first time that the world reached consensus in the UNSC, he said, although some individual countries like his had taken national decisions to sanction Azhar.

France had also pushed for Azhar’s listing as a terrorist by the European Union and it was “about the succeed” before the UNSC took the decision. Noting that he has been in India for three years and a diplomat for 22 years, the envoy said, “I can gauge the importance of this measure, not only for India but also for the international community.”

It is a “concrete” decision because it directly hinders Azhar’s activities, since all UN member states are now bound to freeze his assets, block his access to the financial system, ban him from entering or transiting through their territory, not provide him any arms or military assistance whatsoever, whether directly or indirectly.

“As you know, France has been hit hard by terrorism and the fight against terror remains high in our national and international agenda,” the envoy said. “The fight against terrorism is one of the pillars of our strategic partnership with India. Our two leaders had recalled this during the State visit of President Macron and I can tell you that we are moving very closely and very fast with India,” Ziegler said.