Ban on Masood Azhar not a bilateral issue: MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup

Instead, it is a matter of global terrorism, added India

Two days after Beijing again blocked the move to ban Jaish-e-Mohamed (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar in the UN, India on Thursday hoped that China would eventually come around to accepting the view that it was not a bilateral issue with Pakistan but a matter of global terrorism.

"We don't view this as a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan but as an issue of global counter-terrorism. We hope that eventually, China will also come around to accepting this view," said Vikas Swarup, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson.

"This proposal was not moved by India but by three permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, UK and France. It is our understanding that this was a classic counter-terrorism proposal meant to proscribe a dreaded terrorist leader Masood Azhar whose organisation, the Jaish-e-Mohammad, has already been proscribed by the UN 1267 Committee," Swarup said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang on Wednesday, defended the block, saying "The purpose for China to place the technical hold is to allow enough time for discussion among relevant parties to reach a tenable decision widely accepted by the international community."

China blocked the US' move at the UN to have Pakistani militant Masood Azhar declared as an international terrorist under the 1267 Committee of the Security Council.

Last year, China rejected thrice India's resolution to add Masood to the UN list of international terrorists.