WASHINGTON: China has warned the United States that its actions against Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar could aggravate the situation in South Asia.
The response came on April 3, after the United States of America vowed to utilise “all available avenues” to hold the JeM leader to account.
When asked how the US planned to deal with this issue, a US Department spokesperson reported “We can confirm that we circulated a draft UNSC resolution with UK and French support,”.
The said draft-resolution was issued on March 27, 2019 before the UN Security Council (UNSC) to blacklist Azhar, subjecting him to a travel ban, an assets freeze and an arms embargo.
Moreover, the State Department spokesman insisted that Washington also wanted to route its move to brand Azhar a UN-designated terrorist through this committee but it was not against using other options.
“While we strongly prefer that UNSC designations take place through the committee process, the United States and its allies and partners, including those on the UN Security Council, will utilise all available avenues to ensure that the founder and leader of the UN-designated terrorist organisation JeM is held accountable by the international community,” the spokesman added.
On March 13, China put a technical hold on a French proposal to list Azhar under the UNSC 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee and asked for more consultations before bringing the matter to the UNSC for a vote.
Mr. Geng argued that the US threat to use “all available avenues” was not helpful particularly when JeM’s involvement in the Pulwama attack had not yet been proven.
This comment comes in the backdrop of Pakistan’s rejection of the accusation by India: Last month, India accused Jaesh e Muhammad (JeM) of the Pulwama Attack on Feb 14 in India-held Kashmir (IHK) that killed 40 paramilitary troops and urged Pakistan to hand over Azhar, who was already under house arrest.
Beijing has taken a ‘reasonable stand’ on issue of JeM chief, official
“We hope South Asia could maintain peace and stability and we hope India and Pakistan will engage in dialogue and through dialogue and consultation resolve outstanding issues,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang while explaining China’s policy on the dispute.
China, he said, had taken a “constructive and reasonable stand” on the issue while the US stance was not conducive to peace and stability in South Asia.
On Monday, Mr Geng said that the US decision to go directly to the UNSC to designate Azhar aimed to scuttle China’s efforts to resolve the issue amicably. China, he said, had already made “positive progress” towards its goal.
He further added that the vast majority of UNSC members believed that terrorist designations should be routed through the sanctions committee and should be resolved through consultation instead of pushing the draft resolution at the UNSC.
Lauding China’s constructive role, he clearly expressed concern that the US pressure to unilaterally push for the draft-resolution, “doesn’t make any sense.”
He further condemned the US role, arguing that it was contrary to the international law: “It is only complicating the issue and not conducive to peace and stability in South Asia,” he said.
He vowed that China will continue to play a constructive role for the peace and security in South Asia and expressed hope that the designation issue will be resolved in a proper manner.