Sushma Swaraj
Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs, on Thursday slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and said “if he is so generous then he should hand over JeM chief Masood Azhar to India."
“Terror and talks can’t go hand in hand. Pakistan is providing safe heaven to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. If he is so generous then he should hand over JeM chief Masood Azhar to India,” she said.
China on Wednesday kept Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, under its protective wings, vetoing a fourth attempt to declare him a global terrorist.
Outraged by China blocking the attempt, responsible UNSC members warned they "may be forced to pursue other actions" at the Security Council if Beijing continued with this policy.
"If China continues to block this designation, responsible member-states may be forced to pursue other actions at the Security Council. It shouldn't have to come to that," a Security Council diplomat told PTI in an unusual tough warning to China.
The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to give a sense of the feeling of other members of the Security Council after China blocked the move to designate Azhar a global terrorist. Beijing previously put a technical hold on similar proposals at the UNSC thrice.
In the aftermath of the Pulwama terrorist attack, three permanent members of Security Council — the US, France and the UK — had moved a resolution to designate Azhar a glocal terrorist.
Except for China, which wields veto power in the Security Council, all other UNSC members were on board with the move before the al-Qaida (1267) Sanctions Committee.
Meanwhile, Congress on Wednesday said that China blocking designation of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was a sad day in the global fight against terrorism and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his foreign policy.
Party's communications incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala said that China blocking JeM chief Masood Azhar's designation as global terrorist reaffirms its position of being an inseparable ally of terrorism's breeding ground-Pakistan.
"A sad day in the global fight against terrorism! China blocking Masood Azhar's designation as global terrorist reaffirms Chinese position of being an inseparable ally of terrorism's breeding ground-Pakistan Sadly, Modiji's foreign policy has been a series of diplomatic disasters," he said in a tweet.
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(With inputs from agencies)
