Big boost to India: France to approach UN to ban Jaish chief Masood Azhar; all eyes on China
In a big boost for India, France is all set to move the UN to blacklist Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. Diplomatic Advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron, Philippe Etienne telephoned National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday and proposed to move a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over listing JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist”.
France move to ban Masood Azhar:
The development in the matter is in wake of the recent Pulwama terror attack carried out by Jaish operative in J&K Kamran. Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler on Wednesday said that they were very much pushing to list Azhar as a global terrorist.
"We are very much pushing in that direction. It has been two years that we are trying to put him on the UN sanction list," Alexandre Ziegler said. This will be the second time France will be party to such a proposal at the UN.
According to IndianExpress, sources said that France will be moving a proposal in a “couple of days”. France said some other countries are likely to join in the next few days and conversations are taking place through diplomatic channels with other members of the UNSC.
India in talks with Indonesia:
Apart from P-5 countries, India is also in talks with Indonesia, which is the chair of the UNSC resolution 1267 sanctions committee for moving the resolution. This committee covers terror groups, and vice-chairs, Russia and Peru.
China blocks India's way to ban JeM chief:
As France step forward with a proposal for banning Azhar, now all eyes stuck on China, who has repeatedly blocked India’s attempts to list Azhar at the UNSC. In 2016, India blamed JeM for the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot and proposed to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. However, China intervened at Pakistan’s behest and placed a technical hold on India’s move.
Also read: Pak govt spokesperson’s personal Twitter account suspended for tweeting about Pulwama Attack
First published: 20 February 2019, 12:41 IST