New Delhi:
China on Sunday said that the issue pertaining to India's bid to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist" at the United Nations will be resolved soon.
“This matter (Masood Azhar on UNSC 1267 list) will be resolved, this is only a technical hold which means there is time for continued consultations. It will be resolved believe me,” Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui told ANI.
“Regarding Masood Azhar, we fully understand and we fully believe this matter. We understand India’s concerns and are optimistic this matter will be resolved,” he added.
The statement comes days after China yet again blocked yet another move at the United Nations to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist". Beijing put a technical hold on a proposal in the UN Security Council to ban him following the Pulwama terror attack.
The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after a suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 44 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, leading to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee members had 10 working days to raise any objections to the proposal. Just before the close of the deadline, China put a hold on the proposal. The diplomat said China asked for "more time to examine" the proposal.
The proposal was the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist.
The Committee makes its decisions by consensus of its members.
All eyes were on China, which has in the past blocked India's bids to get Azhar listed as a UN-designated global terrorist thrice.
According to the listing rules of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, if no objection is received by the end of the no-objection period, the decision will be deemed adopted.
As it has done in the past, Beijing put a technical hold on the proposal just as the deadline was about to end.
In 2009, India moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. In 2016 again India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016.
In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
An assets freeze under the Sanctions Committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.
The travel ban entails preventing the entry into or transit by all states through their territories by designated individuals. Under the arms embargo, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories to the designated individuals and entities.
Hectic diplomatic and political parleys had preceded the closely-watched March 13 deadline as New Delhi reached out to the UNSC member countries.
In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, India launched a major diplomatic offensive against Pakistan, holding briefing for envoys of 25 countries, including those from the five permanent UNSC members -- the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France -- to highlight Islamabad's role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
India also handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack.
