BEIJING: China has blocked the US application in the United Nations to have Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar included in a UN list of designated terrorists.
In one of the Obama administration’s last actions in January, the US moved a proposal in support of India’s application to ban JeM supremo.
“China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold,” said an official in New Delhi.
The proposal moved on January 19, a day before Barack Obama handed over charge to President Donald Trump, was co-sponsored by Britain and France “as a fresh counter-terrorism effort, a part of a global move”, he added.
The proposal, finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM was a designated terror group and its leaders could not go scot-free.
India has accused Azhar-led group of masterminding several attacks, including the assault on the Pathankot air base in January 2016. Security officials interrogated Azhar and his associates after the attack, and said they found no evidence linking him to it.
