Pak to detain Masood Azhar as China may lift 'technical hold' at UNSC: Sources
Masood Azhar
After China said "positive changes" had been made towards listing Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist, Pakistan government sources said Masood Azhar will be detained for any pending FIRs after his listing is done today.
Geng Shuang, spokesperson of China's foreign ministry had said on Monday that "at present, the relevant consultations are underway in the 1267 Committee (of United Nations Security Council). Within the framework. And positive progress has been made."
India has been pushing the UNSC to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, a move which gathered further momentum after the February 14th terror attack on a CRPF bus at Pulwama in which over 40 soldiers were killed.
The US, along with UK and France had proposed listing Pak-based Masood Azhar as an international terrorist in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.
China had put a hold on the listing of Masood Azhar as an international terrorist on March 13 at the 1267 sanctions committee of the UNSC.
"We have stated our position many times. I won't go detail here. I just want to emphasise that, first, China supports the issue of listing, which should be resolved through political consultation within the framework of the 1267 Committee. I think that is also the consensus of the overwhelming majority of the members of the Council," China's spokesperson had said on Monday.
WION had reported on Sunday that China is willing to soften its stand on listing of Masood Azhar and could soon announce his listing. The remarks from China comes just few days after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to the country for the Belt and Road forum.
British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith had said last week that his country supports listing of Masood as an international terrorist. Without taking China's name he had said, "We are waiting to see whether the country that is so far been resisting agreeing to its listing will lift that objection," hoping, "we will get to that conclusion of listing Azhar".
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said that all evidence of terrorist activities of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad and its leader Masood Azhar had been shared with China.
China had earlier dismissed reports that it had been served an ultimatum until April 23 by the US, UK and France to lift its "technical hold" on designating Masood Azhar as a global terrorist