India’s bid at the United Nations to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is “politically motivated”, Pakistan said on Sunday. This statement from the Pakistani Foreign Affairs Office comes two days after China blocked the proposal to designate the the JeM chief a global terrorist. ‘’
“The 1267 Sanctions Committee related to the Islamic State/Al-Qaeda has rejected a politically motivated proposal by India,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria was quoted as saying by Dawn. Zakaria added that the proposal had no merit, and that India’s efforts were “replete with frivolous information and baseless allegations” and an attempt at “masking its own terrorist activities in Pakistan”.
Zakaria also raised the issue of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and said his confession about terrorist activities in Pakistan was “yet another proof of India-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan”. “With such duplicitous behaviour and blood on its hands, India has little credibility on counter-terrorism,” Zakaria said, according to Dawn.
It was earlier reported that Pakistan will submit a report on Jadhav to new UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on his first working day at the headquarters on Monday. The dossier will also contain evidence of an alleged attempt at a violation of maritime boundary by an Indian submarine.
Meanwhile, a former Chinese diplomat has urged Beijing to change its position on designating Azhar a terrorist. China’s former consul general in Kolkata, Mao Siwei, said in a blog that Azhar was a “major issue that impacts China-India relations”, adding that the JeM chief was the reason behind the deteriorating ties between the two countries in 2016, The Hindu reported.
On Friday, China had, once again, blocked India’s proposal to list Azhar as a global terrorist. It is the only country in the 15-member-strong UN Security Council to oppose the ban on Azhar. In the proposal, India has reportedly explained in detail Azhar’s involvement in the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January 2016, as well as his role in the September 18 attack at the Indian Army’s Uri base. On December 19, the National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet against Azhar and two other JeM leaders.
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