Beijing: China put on hold the designation of a Pakistan-based operative of UN proscribed Lashkar as a ‘global terrorist’ for the third time this year. The joint India-US proposal was for banning LeT commander Sajid Mir, a most wanted terrorist and handler of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. Mir has a bounty of $5 mn placed on his head by the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks carried out by LeT terrorists. In June this year, he was jailed for over 15 years in a terror-financing case by an anti-terror court in Pakistan, which is struggling to exit the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force.
S Jaishankar, Foreign minister had said only last week that those who block UN action against terrorists do so at the peril of their own reputation and interests. India has accused China of politicising the fight against terrorism saying Beijing’s “double standards” on the issue had undermined the sanctity of the working methods of UNSC sanctions committee.
Last month, China put a hold on a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and a senior leader of the Pakistan-based terror organisation. In June this year, China put a hold, at the last moment, on a joint proposal by India and the US to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. Pakistani authorities had in the past claimed Mir had died, but western countries remained unconvinced and demanded proof of his death.
