The United Nations Security Council on Monday designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba’s deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist.
The security council’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee added the 68-year-old to its list of designated terrorists. Individuals and groups named on the list are subjected to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
The development took place after China gave up its technical hold on Makki’s designation as a terrorist, the Hindustan Times reported. Beijing, in its capacity as a permanent member of the council, had placed the technical hold in July.
However, on Tuesday, it changed its stance after 14 out of 15 members expressed support for designating the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative as a global terrorist.
“The 1267 Committee [of the UN Security Council] is an important international counterterrorism mechanism and listing of terrorists or terror organisations under the aegis of the UN is conducive to enhancing international counterterrorism cooperation in response to terrorist threats,” spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin said, reported PTI.
The security council, in its narrative summary on the reasons for the designation, said that Makki and other operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its frontal organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa have been “involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youth to violence”.
The sanctions committee also said that Makki and his associates have been planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. It listed seven terror attacks in India in which the Lashkar-e-Taiba has been accused of involvement, including the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai and the attack on Delhi’s Red Fort in December 2000.
The narrative summary also noted that Makki is the brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed. The Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, who is wanted in India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is currently serving a 32-year jail sentence in two terror financing cases.
For several years, Makki has regularly been attending “Kashmir Solidarity Day” rallies in Islamabad, according to The Indian Express. Pakistan observes the day on February 5.
At a rally on the occasion in 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba leader had reportedly threatened that there would be “rivers of blood” in India if it did not hand over Kashmir to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the Security Council.
“Threats from terrorism in the region remain high and sanctions by the UNSC are an effective tool to curb such threats,” spokesperson of the ministry Arindam Bagchi said. “India will continue to press the international community to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorism.”
Commenting on Makki’s designation as a global terrorist, India’s former permanent representative to the United Nations TS Tirumurti said that it was a big success for Indian diplomacy.
He said that this was the first instance of an individual being designated with India as the proposer in the security council. He also noted that the council specifically mentioned his involvement in terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!