'Patient' India to get Azhar branded as global terrorist

India will show patience for as long as it takes to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated as global terrorist by the United Nations and will not cut any deal on the issue, informed sources said on Saturday, days after China put the proposal on hold at a meeting of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee.

The sources said that India was cautiously confident that Azhar will be eventually listed at the committee and there was no question of a deal.

They said that seven countries not only supported but co-sponsored the proposal and it had backing the of a total of 14 out of 15 members of the UN Security Council, which was an indictment of Pakistan.

The sources further said that the US interlocutors had agreed that India acted responsibly after the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed and there was strong articulation of support for New Delhi.

India had conducted air strikes targeting JeM training camps at Balakot in Pakistan days after the Pulwama attack.

The sources said the restraint displayed by India had enhanced its standing as a responsible country and that Pakistan has been spending its economic and diplomatic capital on defending the indefensible.

The sources said that actions taken by Pakistan over the past few weeks were cosmetic and it had not done enough to crack down on terrorism.

They said that China has to resolve certain issues with Pakistan though it has information that certain terror groups were operating from Pakistani soil, noting that it was for Beijing to resolve the issues with Islamabad and that India was willing to show patience.

--IANS

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