ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Wednesday Pakistan had no objection to a UN Security Council committee blacklisting Masood Azhar, the head of the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
Western powers have for years been pushing to sanction Azhar, whose militant group has carried out several high-profile attacks in India but China, a staunch ally of Pakistan, has repeatedly opposed the moves.
China dropped its objection to the blacklisting on Wednesday, ending a long diplomatic impasse.
“The listing, in question, has been under consideration of the Sanctions Committee for almost a decade. Previous proposals did not meet the technical criteria as they included factors unrelated to the listing rules and were thus rejected,” Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal told journalists.
“The recent listing proposal was presented on the basis of considerations beyond the listing parameters. As a result, a technical hold was placed by China to bring it in line with the listing criteria.”
Faisal said Islamabad had agreed to the blacklisting after the listing removed references to a February 14 attack in the Indian city of Pulwama, which JeM had claimed responsibility for, as well as linking it to the insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which Pakistan terms a struggle for self-determination.
“We’re going to enforce this decision forthwith,” Faisal said, referring to the travel ban and asset freezes.
“Pakistan has always advocated the need for respecting these technical rules and regulations and has opposed the politicization of the Sanctions Committee,” Faisal explained, referring to what Islamabad claims are Indian attempts to use the UN body against Pakistan unfairly. “Earlier proposals were aimed at maligning Pakistan and the legitimate struggle of the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
Five previous attempts to blacklist Azhar were blocked by China, a permanent member of the UNSC which wields power to veto any “substantive” resolution.
Azhar’s freedom within Pakistan has been a sore point in the relationship between Western countries and Pakistan.
The United States, Britain and France initially asked the UN Security Council’s Islamic State and al Qaeda sanctions committee to subject the JeM founder to an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze in February.
But the move by the 15-member committee, which operates by consensus, was blocked by China, which had previously also blocked the sanctions committee from imposing sanctions on Azhar in 2016 and 2017.
The United States, Britain and France then stepped up their push to blacklist Azhar in late March by proposing a resolution, which would have needed nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass.
After further negotiations, they submitted a new request to the committee on Sunday to sanction Azhar, which was agreed on Wednesday.
“We support the listing issue being settled within the 1267 committee through dialogue and consultation,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday. “Relevant consultations are going on within the committee and has achieved some progress.”
The February attack in Kashmir prompted India to carry out an aerial bombing mission inside Pakistan, the first such move since a war in 1971. Pakistan retaliated with its own aerial bombardment the following day, and the two countries fought a brief dogfight over Kashmir skies.
Tensions began to ease when Pakistan, amid pressure from global powers, returned a downed Indian pilot shot down over Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Islamabad has since vowed to crack down on anti-India militants and other outfits operating on its soil. It has shut down some madrassas linked to violent groups and as part of the crackdown also detained relatives of Azhar in “protective custody.”
