India Refuses to Call China's Delaying UN Bid to Blacklist JeM Leader a Failure

This was India's fourth attempt to get Masood Azhar blacklisted as a global terrorist. In 2009, India was the lone proposer while in 2016, India's proposal was co-sponsored by the US, France and UK. In 2017 again, the US, UK and France backed the proposal, but on every occasion, the motion was defeated with China imposing a technical hold.

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian government has refused to acknowledge the defeat of its UNSC resolution on designating Masood Azhar a global terrorist as a "diplomatic failure." Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday claimed that since 2009, the Indian government has been able to garner significant global support on the issue.

Masood Azhar, head of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit, has been identified by India as the mastermind of many terror attacks in the country, including the recent suicide bombing in Pulwama in the Indian-administered side of the contested Kashmir region.  

READ MORE: Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Refutes Rumours of His Death in Audio Message — Reports

"In 2019, the proposal was moved by USA, France and UK and supported by 14 of the 15 UN Security Council Members and also co-sponsored by Australia, Bangladesh, Italy and Japan — non members of the Security Council… I have shared these facts with you so that leaders who describe this as our diplomatic failure may see for themselves that in 2009, India was alone. In 2019, India has the world wide support," FM Swaraj tweeted.

I have shared these facts with you so that leaders who describe this as our diplomatic failure may see for themselves that in 2009, India was alone. In 2019, India has the world wide support. /7

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 15, 2019

The Indian foreign minister's statement came in the wake of allegations by the opposition and some independent critics that the Narendra Modi-led government has failed to garner much-needed global support for the UNSC proposal to subject Masood Azhar to a spate of sanctions. The request was put on hold by China, a veto-bearing member of the UNSC, which put a technical hold on the proposal.

"By putting a technical hold on the listing of Masood at the 1267 Committee, China aims to get more time for the Committee to review this issue and for all parties to engage in consultations and create a favorable atmosphere. In the long run, it will help ease tension and maintain stability in the region. If this issue is to be resolved fundamentally and in a sustainable way, we need a solution agreed by all. China will continue to step up communication and coordination with all relevant parties including India to properly settle this issue," Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday, justifying the move.

READ MORE: Pakistan Changes Story on Jaish-e-Mohammed Militant Group

Earlier, during an official media briefing, India's Foreign Ministry described the development as "disappointing" without making a direct reference to China.

China has been supporting moves to sanction other Pakistan-based terrorists, including Hafiz Saeed, Zaki Ur Rahman Lakhvi and other Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders, such as Arif Qasmani and Yahya Mujahid (all Pakistan based), since 2009.