Defying global opposition, China has vetoed sanctions againstMasood Azhar, the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), extending cover to him andPakistan that protects him.
On Wednesday, China was theonly Security Council member to oppose the proposal spearheaded with renewedvigour by France with British and US backing at the al-Qaeda sanctionscommittee to declare him a global terrorist and impose sanctions on him.
Wednesday was the deadline to take a decision in the currentcycle and because of Beijing’s veto – officially known as a technical hold –the proposal will remain on hold for at least three months.
In New Delhi, the ExternalAffairs Ministry expressed disappointment over the outcome.
The US had said on Tuesday thatChina’s opposition to designating Azhar as an international terrorist runscounter to the mutual goal with the US of regional stability.
As the founder and leader ofJeM, Azhar “meets the criteria for designation by the United Nations”for a global terrorist subject to its sanctions, State Department DeputySpokesperson Robert Palladino said.
Before Azhar’s case was takenup by the committee, Beijing indicated it would block the sanctions on him.
Using convoluted diplomaticlanguage, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters in Beijing,”China will continue to adopt responsible attitude and participate in thedeliberations in the UNSC 1267 Committee” and “engage in consultationswith various parties and properly deal with this issue”.
Last week, Chinese Vice ForeignMinister Kong Xuanyou visited Pakistan for talks with that nation’s leaders. Hedeclared that Beijing was Islamabad’s time-tested friend and woul stand by it.