China Saves Masood Azhar

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

China yet again saves Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by putting on hold a proposal at the UN for a ban on Masood Azhar, bringing to a halt a renewed push by France, US and UK to blacklist Masood Azhar the Pakistan-based terrorist after the Pulwama attack.

This is the fourth time China has put the same proposal on a 'technical hold' before finally terminating the proposal. The hold can last up to a maximum of nine months, after which as usual China will again use its veto power to formally block, or terminate, the proposal.

THE PROPOSAL

The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was brought by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after the 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.

POINTS TO NOTE

• The Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee members had 10 working days to raise any objections to the proposal. The no-objection period deadline was scheduled to end at 3PM local time (New York) Wednesday, (12:30 AM IST Thursday). 
• A diplomat at the UN told PTI, Just before the deadline, China put a “technical hold” on the proposal, 
• The diplomat said China has asked for “more time to examine” the case.

“This has prevented action by the international community to designate the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a proscribed and active terrorist organization which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February 2019,” it said in a statement in New Delhi.

POWER OF SANCTIONS

An assets freeze under the Sanctions Committee mans that all states should freeze all the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities without an delay. 

The travel ban entails preventing the entry into or transit by all states through their territories by selected 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.

INDIA’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO UN, SYED AKBARUDDIN

WHAT NOW?

In October 2019 India will have a chance to get Pakistan under The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Black list, till then lets hope for the best . India has faced worse condition than what we see now, there was time when USA and Pakistan were allies and India was not strong enough to fight with them still we survived and grew. And today India is one of the largest economies.