New Delhi, India

China has rejected the listing of Pakistan-based Jaish commander Abdul Rauf Azhar as a terrorist at United Nations Security Council (UNSC), effectively putting the issue out of the ambit of the council. Only a fresh proposal can put the listing of Rauf Azhar back on the agenda of the Security Council.

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A proposal was moved by India, co-sponsored by the US, to list Abdul Rauf Azhar in the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee last year. China had, however, placed a technical hold on the proposal.

Azhar, the deputy chief of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed and younger brother of its founder Masood Azhar, is known for his involvement in several terrorist attacks, including the hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft in 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001, and the attack on an Indian Air Force base in 2016. He is one of the most wanted people in India.

This is not the first time that China, Pakistan's all-weather friend, obstructed or blocked the listing of terrorists in the 1267 Sanctions Committee. These actions by Beijing have been seen as politicisation of the sanction regime.

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Last year, India's external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar criticised China for obstructing the United Nations Security Council's listing of a Pakistan-based terrorist group.

Dr Jaishankar emphasised the need for the Security Council to convey a clear and forceful message and emphasised that political considerations should not be used to evade responsibility or enable impunity. Without mentioning China directly, he highlighted that the Security Council has failed to sanction some of the most notorious terrorists in the world due to such political considerations.

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