India's fight against terrorism undeterred by China's block on Masood Azhar ban: MEA

India on Friday said that China's continuous blocking of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the UN will not affect New Delhi's resolve to fight terrorism.

"Masood Azhar's organisation is already banned. I think the decision by a country to block a consensus should not be seen as an end to our counter-terrorism efforts. This block (by China) will not affect our resolve to fight terrorism in any way. It will continue. Several countries are associated with us in this, nations will continue to join us and our resolve to ensure that the territory of India remains safe," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said during a press brefing.

"I think the decision by a country to block a consensus should not be seen as an end to our counter-terrorism efforts. What is important is that it does not, in any way, take away our resolve to fight terrorism," Kumar said.

India's reaction comes as China once again blocked the consensus on the listing of Azhar as an internationally designated terrorist under the UNSCR 1267 Committee.

"We are deeply disappointed that once again, a single country has blocked international consensus on the designation of an acknowledged terrorist and leader of UN-designated terrorist organization, Masood Azhar," Kumar had said earlier in response to China's blockade at UN over Azhar.

The Jaish-e-Muhammad is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department, and India has accused its chief Azhar of launching several terrorist attacks on its soil, including the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack.

India has initiated the move to include Azhar on the UN terrorist list, subjecting him to a travel ban. All 15 members of the Security Council, except China, support India's bid.

China is one of the five veto-holding members in the United Nations. The other countries are United States, United Kingdom, Russia and France.