Islamabad: Pakistan has ordered to freeze the assets and imposed a travel ban on terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar after the United Nations declared him a “global terrorist.” Azhar is also banned from selling or purchasing arms and ammunition. The UN sanctions committee earlier announced the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist over his ties to Al-Qaeda.
The JeM has claimed responsibility for the Pulwama suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and led to a spike in tensions between India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a notification, “the Federal Government is pleased to order that the Resolution 2368 (2017) be fully implemented” against Azhar. The government directed officials to take actions “as appropriate for the implementation of sanctions” against the JeM chief, according to the notification.
Azhar declared global terrorist
Azar was designated as a global terrorist after China finally lifted its technical hold on Jaish-e-Mohammad leader. China relented after intense pressure from the US, UK and France and even smaller countries, including Indonesia which chaired the UN Sanctions Committee that formally made the designation, backing India, much to Pakistan’s embarrassment.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin said, “Big, small, all join together. Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist in @UN Sanctions list. Grateful to all for their support.” India has pursued the case against Azhar in the UN for a decade and MEA said Pakistan was “michievously” attempting to salvage a diplomatic embarrassment - a reference to Islamabad saying there is no reference to Pulwama.
It was moment to celebrate given China’s consistent cover to its “all-weather ally” over Azhar and other terrorists who target India. Beijing bowed to international opinion after Jaish owned up to the Pulwama attack and India mounted a renewed effort to sanction Azhar. For Islamabad, the ban on Azhar is a serious reverse, coming as it does after near total absence of any criticism of India’s air strikes on Balakot.
The Trump administration fully backed New Delhi’s efforts to make China see reason. The US, along with France and the UK, turned the heat on China in the UN Security Council, threatening to discuss Azhar in a forum that would isolate Beijing publicly and force it to state the reasons for opposing the ban.
