China blocking a proposal at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist is "politically motivated" and exposes its "doublespeak and double standards" in fighting terrorism, government sources said on Thursday.
Abdul Rauf, the younger brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, has been involved in planning and executing numerous terror strikes in India including the hijacking of Indian Airlines aircraft IC814 in 1999, the attack on the Parliament in 2001 and the targeting of the IAF base in Pathankot in 2016.
Sources said such "politically motivated" actions by China in nearly every listing case of Pakistan-based terrorists reflected "undermining" of the entire sanctity of the working of the UN Security Council's Sanctions Committees.
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The designation of Abdul Rauf would have resulted in a global travel ban on him as well as requiring Pakistan to freeze his assets and to cut off his access to weapons and related materials.
China on Wednesday put a 'technical hold' on a joint proposal at the UN Security Council by India and the US to blacklist him. All other 14 member states of the top UN body supported the move.
The latest action came less than a month after China blocked a similar joint proposal by India and the US to blacklist Pakistan-based deputy leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba Abdul Rehman Makki.
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Makki too has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youths to resort to violence and planning and executing attacks in India, including the Mumbai terror strikes.
The proposal to designate Abdul Rauf was moved in the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee and the documents related to it were circulated among all the member nations.
There has been "incontrovertible evidence" for both these listing proposals, sources said.
Both the terrorists have already been sanctioned by the US under its domestic legislation.
"It is unfortunate that the sanctions committee has been prevented from playing its role due to political considerations. China's actions expose its double speak and double standards when it comes to the international community's shared battle against terrorism," said a source.
In the past also, China repeatedly blocked proposals to designate Pakistan-based terrorists.
After China blocked the proposal to designate Makki as an international terrorist, government sources said that the action ran counter to Beijing's claim of combating terrorism.
Makki is the head of the political affairs of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jamat ud-Dawa (JuD), and served as head of LeT's foreign relations department.
The LeT has been involved in major attacks in India such as the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Red Fort Attack in 2000, Rampur CRPF Camp attack in January 2008, Khanpora (Baramulla) attack in 2018, Srinagar attack in June 2018 and Gurez/Bandipora attack in 2018, according to sources in the security establishment.
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(With PTI inputs)
