China defends blocking Azhar at UN, says it will help in finding lasting solution
(Agencies)
Beijing: China on Thursday sought to defend its fourth technical hold at the UN Security Council to block the designation of Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist”, saying it would help the parties concerned to engage in more talks to find a “lasting solution” acceptable to all.
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 40 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 deadline ended, China put a “technical hold” on the proposal seeking “more time to examine” it.
The proposal was the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist.
Asked why China once again resorted to block the move, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing here that Beijing’s decision is in line with the rules of the committee.
China “sincerely hopes that relevant action taken by this committee will help relevant countries to engage in dialogue and consultation and prevent adding more complicated factors into regional peace and stability,” he said.
“As to the technical hold at the 1267 Committee our action is to make sure that the committee will have enough time to study the matter so that the relevant sides will have time for dialogue and consultation,” Lu said.
“Only a solution that is acceptable to all sides could fundamentally provide a chance for a lasting solution to the issue. China is ready to communicate and coordinate with all sides including India to properly handle this issue,” he said.
The Security Council 1267 Committee has clear standards on the procedures of designating terrorist organisations and individuals, Lu said.
“China conducts thorough and in-depth assessment of these applications and we still need more time, so that is why we put forward the technical hold,” he said.
