India on Thursday said that it expects the United Nations Security Council to sanction Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and that failing to do so would send out a dangerous message.
“We convey to committee (UNSC 1267 Committee) that it is expected to proscribe Masood Azhar as a terrorist, it will send a dangerous message if fails to act,” spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi today.
His response came a day after India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told the UN General Assembly that the 15- nation Security Council, the "principal organ" tasked with the maintenance of peace and security, has in a variety of ways become "unresponsive to the needs of our time and ineffective to meeting the challenges it is confronted with".
Commenting on China’s “technical hold” on India’s move to ban Masood Azhar, Swarup said, “14 countries were on one side and one country on the other, so that lead to this extension.”
“It is expected to proscribe Masood Azhar under the 1267 sanctions regime, on the basis of our submission, which will send a strong signal to all terror groups that international community will not pursue or tolerate selective approach to terrorism,” he said.
Yesterday, Akbaruddin had criticised the UN for failing to act on India’s request.
Without naming China, Akbaruddin referred to its technical hold on India's bid against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Azhar, saying the Council is a body that "ponders for six months on whether to sanction leaders of organisations it has itself designated as terrorist entities".
"Then, unable to decide, it gives itself three more months to further consider this issue. One has to expectantly wait for nine months before the process is completed to know if Council members have decided on a single issue," he said in the General Assembly debate on the Report of the Secretary General on the Work of the Organisation here.
India holds Pakistan-based Azhar and his organisation JeM responsible for attacks at Air Force base in Pathankot earlier this year and Army base in Uri last month. The attack in Uri by four terrorists led to the death of 19 Indian soldiers.
On March 31 this year, China - a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council - had blocked India's move to put a ban on Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council.
The Chinese technical hold had lapsed on Monday, and had China not raised further objection, the resolution designating Azhar as a terrorist would have been passed automatically.
However, Beijing on Saturday announced the extension of its "technical hold".
China was the sole member in the 15-nation UN organ to put a hold on India's application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.
