India has taken up with China the matter of opposing the United States’ move at the United Nations to designate Pathankot terrorist attack mastermind and Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Vikas Swarup, spokesperson at Ministry of External Affairs, said that New Delhi has taken up the matter with Beijing.
"We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government," he said.
Swarup, however, choose not to elaborate when and where the issue was taken up with China.
According to news agency PTI, the US proposal, which was finalised after ‘consultations’ between New Delhi and Washington, said that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free.
The proposal was supported by the UK and France. But China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal.
The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. It was submitted just a day before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, officials privy to the development said.
The hold remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a ‘block’, thereby, ending the life of the proposal.
Once designated, the UN Sanction Committee's listing will force imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan.
China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its ‘all-weather ally’ Pakistan.
After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a "technical hold" before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December.
