Accepted Azhar’s listing on fresh evidence: China

By Gaurav Sharma

Beijing, May 1 (IANS) China on Wednesday said it acted against Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar after India shared fresh evidence on the man who plotted several deadly attacks.

"After careful study of the revised materials and taking into consideration the opinions of relevant parties, China does not have an objection to the listing proposal," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had earlier met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed the blacklisting of Azhar. The Indian Foreign Ministry had said all the evidences against Azhar were shared.

China since 2009 had blocked all moves by India, the US and other countries to declare Azhar an international terrorist. His JeM had claimed the responsibility for killing 40 Indian security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in February.

Beijing had placed a "technical hold" on resolutions four times earlier, saying it needed more to study the evidence which were not enough. It had placed the latest technical hold on March 13 on the resolution moved by France with the backing of the US and the UK, only to lift it on Wednesday.

Moments after lifting its technical hold on the resolution seeking ban on Azhar at the 1267 Sanctions Committee, Beijing said: "The 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council has detailed criteria for the listing procedures. China always believes that the relevant work should be carried out in an objective, unbiased and professional manner and based on solid evidence and consensus among all parties."

"On this listing issue, China has been communicating with relevant parties in a constructive and responsible fashion. Recently, relevant countries revised and re-submitted the materials for the listing proposal to the 1267 Committee," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"The proper settlement of the above-mentioned issue again shows that in international counter-terrorism cooperation, we have to uphold the rules and procedures of relevant UN body, follow the principle of mutual respect, resolve differences and build consensus through dialogue and prevent politicising technical issues."

It also defended Islamabad, saying its close ally had made enormous contribution to combat international terrorism.

"I would like to stress that Pakistan has made enormous contributions in fighting terrorism, which deserves the full recognition of the international community. China will continue to firmly support Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism and extremist forces," said the statement quoting a spokesperson.