New Delhi: After China once again blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Pakistani terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar on Thursday, New Delhi said the “politically motivated” move exposes Beijing’s “doublespeak and double standards” in fighting terrorism.This is the second time Beijing has blocked sanctions against Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, in less than two months.Indian government sources said such “politically motivated” actions by China in nearly every listing case of Pakistan-based terrorists reflected “undermining” of the entire sanctity of the working of the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committees.Beijing put a hold on the latest proposal a day after India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj told a Security Council meeting chaired by China that the practice of placing holds and blocks on listing requests without giving any justification must end and asserted that the credibility of the sanctions regime was at an all-time low.Abdul Rauf Azhar, born in 1974 in Pakistan, was sanctioned by the US in December 2010. He has been involved in planning and executing numerous terror strikes in India including the hijacking of Indian Airlines aircraft IC814 in 1999, the attack on the Parliament in 2001 and the targeting of the IAF base in Pathankot in 2016.The designation of Abdul Rauf would have resulted in a global travel ban on him as well as requiring Pakistan to freeze his assets and to cut off his access to weapons and related materials.“It is unfortunate that the sanctions committee has been prevented from playing its role due to political considerations. China’s actions expose its double speak and double standards when it comes to the international community’s shared battle against terrorism,” said a source.On Wednesday, sources said China, a permanent member of the Council and an all-weather ally of Pakistan, put a hold on a proposal by the US and India to designate Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist and subject him to assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.This is the second time in less than two months that China has put a hold on a listing by the US and India to blacklist a Pakistan-based terrorist under the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council.In June this year, China had 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-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.Makki is a US-designated terrorist and brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Taiba head and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.Maulana Masood Azhar, head of Pakistan’s militant Jaish-e-Mohammad. Photo: ReutersNew Delhi and Washington had put a joint proposal to designate Makki as a global terrorist under the 1267 ISIL and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council but Beijing placed a hold on this proposal at the last minute here.The US Department of Treasury had in December 2010 designated Abdul Rauf Azhar, a senior leader of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM), for acting for or on behalf of JeM.”The US said as a senior leader of JeM, Abdul Rauf Azhar has urged Pakistanis to engage in militant activities. He has served as JeM’s acting leader in 2007, as one of JeM’s most senior commanders in India, and as JeM’s intelligence coordinator.”“In 2008 Azhar was assigned to organise suicide attacks in India. He was also involved with JeM’s political wing and has served as a JeM official involved with training camps.The JeM is involved in the planning and execution of numerous terror attacks in India, including the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and the 2016 attack on the Indian air force base in Pathankot.During the UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Ambassador Kamboj had said that the practice of placing holds and blocks on listing requests without giving any justification must end.An effective functioning of the Sanctions Committees requires them to become more transparent, accountable and objective. The practice of placing holds and blocks on listing requests without giving any justification must end, Kamboj said.She also said that it is most regrettable that genuine and evidence-based listing proposals pertaining to some of the most notorious terrorists in the world are being placed on hold.“Double standards and continuing politicisation have rendered the credibility of the Sanctions Regime at an all-time low. We do hope that all members of the UNSC can pronounce together in one voice, sooner than later, when it comes to this collective fight against international terrorism,” she had said.Earlier also, China has placed holds and blocks on bids by India and its allies to list Pakistan-based terrorists.In May 2019, India won a huge diplomatic win at the UN when the global body designated JeM chief Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist”, a decade after New Delhi had first approached the world body on the issue.A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China was the sole hold-out in the 15-nation body on the bid to blacklist Azhar, blocking attempts by placing a “technical hold”. All decisions of the committee are taken through consensus.In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar.In 2016 again India moved the proposal with the P3 – the US, the UK 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 that year.In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions, China blocked India’s proposal from being adopted by the sanctions committee.China defends positionChina on Thursday defended its decision, saying it needs more time to study the case.“We placed a hold because we need more time to study the case. Placing holds is provided for by the Committee guidelines, and there have been quite a number of similar holds by Committee members on listing requests,” a spokesperson for China’s mission to the United Nations told Reuters.When asked for further comment at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry defended China’s track record at the sanctions committee, also known as the 1267 Committee, and asked the media not to “speculate”.“China has always participated in the work of the 1267 Committee in a constructive and responsible manner in strict accordance with the rules and procedures of the Committee, and we hope that other members will do the same,” foreign ministry Wang Wenbin said.
