India disappointed over 'technical hold' on slapping sanctions on Masood Azhar

WASHINGTON :India has said it is disappointed that a "technical hold" has been put on its application to include Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar in the UN sanctions list, terming the move "incomprehensible".

Alleging that the UN sanctions commitee was taking a "selective approach" in tackling terrorism, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a press conference yesterday that the move has implications for the entire international community.

"This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," he said.

He said India is "disappointed" that a technical hold has been put on India's application to include the name of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar by a terrorist sanctions committee established by the UN Security Council.

"It's working methods, based on the principles of unanimity and anonymity, is leading the Committee to adopt a selective approach to combating terrorism," Swarup alleged.

India, he said, finds it "incomprehensible" that while the Pakistan based JeM was listed in the UN Security Council Committee as far back as 2001 for its known terror activities and links to the Al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator has been put on a technical hold.

"The recent terror attack in Pathankot on January 2 has shown that India continues to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Masood Azhar. Given the global networking of terrorist groups, this has implications for the entire international community," Swarup said.

The spokesperson said the resolutions of the UN Security Council should aim to protect all member states and their citizens from the activities of terror groups such as JeM its leader Mohammad Masood Azhar

Notably a day earlier, the Chinese President Xi Jinping in a joint appearance with his American counterpart, Barack Obama, had identified terrorism as a big problem.

"Terrorist threat is on the rise. As the largest developing country and the largest developed country, and also as the world's top two economies, China and the United States have growing responsibilities for promoting world peace, stability and prosperity. There are wide areas where we should and we can work with each other," Jinping had said.

China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, has claimed that its decision is based on facts and rules.