France is set to move a proposal at the United Nations to include Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in the global terrorist list. The Pakistan-based militant outfit had claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, which killed 40 jawans.
“We are very much pushing in that direction,” Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler told ANI on the decision to approach the UN. “It has been two years that we are trying to put him on the UN sanctions list.” France is a permanent member of the United Nations.
Russia also said it will support India’s move at the UN Security Council to declare Azhar a global terrorist. “Definitely, we would also like to convey our condolences about the terrorist attack that happened,” Russian Minister Denis Manturov told ANI. “Russia supports India in question of terrorism.”
This will be the second time France will be party to such a proposal at the UN, according to PTI. In 2017, the United States, supported by the United Kingdom and France, had moved a proposal at the UN Sanctions Committee 1267 to ban Azhar. The proposal was blocked by China, which is a permanent member of the UN and holds veto power in the UN Security Council.
Unidentified officials said Philippe Etienne, diplomatic adviser to the French President, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had discussed moving the proposal in the United Nations on Tuesday, PTI reported.
China had refused to back India’s appeal at the UN to designate Azhar a global terrorist, a day after the Pulwama attack. In November, China blocked for the fourth time an attempt by the United States, France and the United Kingdom to add Azhar’s name to the UN terrorist list, claiming it was because “there was no consensus”.
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