Why China dropped its opposition to UN blacklisting of Pakistan-based terror chief Masood Azhar
- India claimed decision to stop blocking sanctions on Jaish e-Mohammed leader as victory, but revised wording on listing also took into account Pakistani concerns
- Beijing’s shift followed serious attack in Kashmir in February and comes amid growing concerns that China would be isolated over issue
China’s decision to support a United Nations measure to sanction Pakistan-based terrorist chief Masood Azhar after a decade of opposition follows rising international pressure in the wake of a deadly attack in India earlier this year.
Analysts linked the climbdown to Beijing’s increasing concerns about being isolated diplomatically at a time of heightened global concern about terrorism, but some also argued that the shift was made possible by a change of wording that avoided angering China’s long-standing ally Pakistan.
On Wednesday, a UN Security Council committee blacklisted Azhar, head of the terrorist group Jaish e-Mohammed (JeM), after China released its technical hold on a proposal that would subject him to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
The shift came after a decade of lobbying from India, during which time China raised several holds on proposals to blacklist Azhar due to technicalities – a move that prompted criticism that Beijing was shielding the terrorist at the behest of its “all-weather” ally Pakistan.
There were growing calls to sanction Azhar after the Pulwama attack in February, in which JeM – designated a terrorist organisation by the UN in 2001 – claimed responsibility for the death of 40 Indian security personnel in Kashmir.
China’s foreign ministry said it no longer opposed the proposal after it was revised and resubmitted by the United States, Britain and France, and added that it firmly supported Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism.