China’s decision at the United Nations to put on hold for three months the proposed sanctions against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief rather than “permanently block” India’s move has left the door ajar for further negotiations between the two sides.
Surely the best-case scenario for India would have been for China to agree with others to impose sanctions on Azhar, accused by India of masterminding a number of terror strikes against India, including the January attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot.
However, Indian officials said China, if forced to take a decision at the UN, could also have opted for “permanently blocking” the sanctions given its close ties with Islamabad. This would not only have prevented the possibility of any further move to sanction the Pakistan-based “terrorist” but could also have strained Sino-Indian relations further.
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Though Indian officials are disappointed by China’s decision to put on hold the proposed sanctions on Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council’s 1267 committee, it has gives more time to Beijing to mull over the growing sentiment in Delhi and other parts of the world against Islamabad’s policy to shield terrorists on its territory.
The 1267 committee, known as the al-Qaeda sanctions committee, is one of the three committees of the UN Security Council that deals with counter-terrorism.
Early this year, the move to impose sanctions and ban on Azhar under the UN provision was put on technical hold by China. At the end of its expiry date on Friday, China yet again decided to hold it up by three more months.
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The decision also leaves open an opportunity for Indian officials to convince Beijing that it should not be seen as a country condoning acts of terrorism.
The rising mood against Pakistan, might also allow the Chinese to give sage advice to its friends in the Pakistani establishment to take some visible action against terror groups based on its soil to repair its damaged image.
