India will be patient with China on listing Masood Azhar as a terrorist

New Delhi: India will show patience with China on it hold on listing Jaishe-e-Mohmmaed chief Maualana Masood Azhar as a terrorist under UN norms, a person familiar with the developments said on Saturday adding that New Delhi was optimistic that it could work with Beijing on the matter.

The person cited above however clarified that New Delhi would not cut any deal with China or any of the members of the UN’s 1267 sanctions committee that had this week considered a proposal co sponsored by the US, Britain and France to ban Azhar under UN norms and supported by several others.

According to the person cited above, there are issues China has to resolve with Pakistan on this matter and India is cautiously confident that eventually Masood Azhar will get listed.

The proposal at the UN was brought in the wake of 14 February suicide bombing targeting an Indian paramilitary security convoy in Pulwama in Kashmir. While 14 members of the UN Security Council expressed support for the proposal banning Azhar, China placed a hold on it, preventing its passage. The Chinese action was seen as taking place at the instance of Pakistan where Azhar and his terrorist group are based. China and Pakistan are “all weather” friends, with the partnership between the two making India wary.

This is not the first time that China has prevented Azhar from being designated a terrorist at the UN, a move that will curtail Azhar’s travel, freeze his assets and prevent him from raising funds for his terrorist organisation. But this is the first time that New Delhi seemed willing to show patience with China on the matter with the Indian statement issued soon after the Chinese hold on the proposal on Wednesday expressing “disappointment” – seemingly milder language than it has used previously express India’s views on the matter. When China had blocked a similar proposal brought by India in 2016, an Indian statement had then said that India had raised the matter with the Chinese at the “highest levels.”

On Saturday, the person cited above sought to explain India’s optimism by pointing out that Beijing had put a “hold” and not blocked the proposal, indicating possible wiggle room to work with the Chinese. This coincided with a Reuters news report from Beijing on Friday which said that China was willing to have more discussions with India on blacklisting of Azhar. Another news report in the Hindustan Times on Saturday said that discussions were under way to reach a compromise that would enable China to allow the UN Security Council to list and sanction Azhar in exchange for some changes in the language of the designation as proposed.

The person cited above did not elaborate on how India would persuade China on matter of banning Azhar but said that India’s permanent respresentative at the UN was in touch with his counterpart, India’s ambassador in China was in touch with the foreign ministry in Beijing and Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale had spoken to the Chinese ambassador to New Delhi Luo Zhaohui.

India believes that for China too terrorism was a major challenge, the person said adding that Beijing was aware that terrorist groups were based in Pakistan. But China had some issues to work through with Pakistan so India will show patience, the person said.

On Pakistan, the person said that the steps taken by Islamabad so far that included detentions of people and groups were only cosmetic steps and if Pakistan was sincere in its efforts to crackdown on terrorism against India, it should hand over Indian citizens like United Jihad Council’s Syed Salahuddin and Dawood Ibrahim wanted by India in the 1993 Mumbai blasts sheltered in Pakistan.