Ahead of the United Nations Security Council meting on listing Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, China on Wednesday hinted that it may once again block the move, saying only “the solution that is acceptable to all sides” is conducive to resolve the issue.
The fate of the proposal to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council will be known in less than 24 hours when the deadline to raise objections to the bid expires.
The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, UK and the US on February 27.
“I could reiterate that China will continue to adopt responsible attitude and participate in the deliberations in the UNSC 1267 Committee,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.
ALSO RAED: Masood Azhar meets criteria to be designated as global terrorist: US ahead of UNSC meet
China, a veto-wielding member of the UNSC, has blocked the move by India and other member nations three times in the past.
On the issue of listing Azhar as global terrorist, he said, “I want to say that China always adopts a responsible attitude, engage in consultations with various parties and properly deal with this issue.”
“The discussions, I want to say must follow the rules and procedures of the relevant bodies and only the solution that is acceptable to all sides is conducive for resolving the issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States has said that Masood Azhar meets the criteria to be designated as a global terrorist and not doing so is against regional stability and peace.
The JeM, headed by Masood Azhar carried out many terror strikes in India and was involved in the attack on Parliament, the Pathankot air force base, army camps in Jammu and Uri. It claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama suicide attack which left 40 CRPF personnel dead.