Pak Senator corners govt., questions rationale behind protecting JeM chief

Questioning the rationale behind protecting Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar from sanctions by the United Nations, a Pakistani Senator has said that China would not have stepped in to protect the former unless the Nawaz Sahrif-led government had asked for the same.

During discussion on the report of Quetta carnage of August 8, which killed at least 72 people, including 53 lawyers of Balochistan, Senator Farhatullah Babar said, "We need to know why an outfit that is banned in Pakistan as a militant organisation should be protected from sanctions by the UN."

During the discussion, the legislative body of the Pakistan Senate also demanded zero tolerance for banned militant organisations that continue to operate in the country and called for implementation of Justice Qazi Faez Isa's report on the Quetta carnage in letter and spirit, reports the Daily Star.

On December 30 last year, China for the third time with its "technical hold blocked" a UN attempt to blacklist the JeM chief, accused by India of masterminding the Pathankot Air Base attack.