China indicates will again block Indian bid to blacklist Masood Azhar at UN

China on Monday indicated that it would yet again block India's bid to blacklist the chief of the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar by the United Nations Security Council because there was no consensus.

India, backed by the United States, has been trying to get Maulana Masood Azhar on a UN list of groups with ties to al Qaeda.

China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly put a technical hold on India's move to put a ban on the JeM terrorist under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council, the latestis due to end on Thursday.

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China had in August extended by three months its technical hold on the proposal to list the JeM founder as a global terrorist after having blocked the move in February this year at the United Nations.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the country had proposed a technical hold on the move to ban Masood Azhar so that UN committee members had time for further consultations but they were unable to reach a consensus.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said there were clear rules for listing a person or group as a terrorist, and that China has always believed the relevant UN committee should operate on the principles of objectivity, fairness and professionalism on this matter.

Jaish-e-Mohammad has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council, but not Azhar.

"China proposed a technical hold, the aim of which was to give more time for the committee members to discuss it and for relevant parties to have further consultations," Hua said. "But regrettably, the committee has yet to reach consensus".

India blames Masood Azhar's JeM for a series of terrorist attacks in India, including one an airbase in Pathankot in 2016 and on its parliament in 2002.

China's repeated technical hold has become a point of friction between China and India, which fears Beijing is disregarding its concerns over terrorism.

India also fears that China will protect its "all-weather" ally Pakistan, no matter how much the evidence against Islamabad which saidit interrogated Azhar and his associates in the JeM after the January 2016 Pathankot attack but found no evidence linking him to it.

Asked if China is resorting to block the move repeatedly at the behest of Pakistan, Hua said: "We believe that the Committee should follow the principles of objectivity, professionalism, and fairness and reach decision by a consensus based on solid proof".

Hua also defended Pakistan's track record on terrorism, saying that Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism and China supports Islamabad in countering terrorism in accordance with its own national conditions.

"On counterterrorism, China always advocates greater international cooperation in fighting it," she added.

In the last two years, China has stonewalled efforts by India and then later by the US, the UK and France to declare Azhar as a global terrorist, stating that there was no consensus on the issue.

Last year in March, China was the only member in the UN Security Council to put a hold on India's application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.

(with inputs from Reuters, PTI)