Nagpur : The UN has designated the leader of a militant group behind a deadly bomb attack that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war as a terrorist.
Masood Azhar is the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which carried out a suicide bombing in February killing 40 troops in Indian-administered Kashmir. The UN move comes after China dropped its objection to the listing. India hailed it as a diplomatic victory. Masood Azhar will be subject to an assets freeze and a travel ban.
“Big, small, all join together. Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist in @UN Sanctions list. Grateful to all for their support,” Syed Akbaruddin, India’s ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted.
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Pakistan said it would immediately enforce the sanctions, but also took aim at India.
“Pakistan maintains that terrorism is a menace to the world, including the Indian state-sponsored terrorism against innocent Kashmiris,” foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said.
He added that it would be false to present the development as a “victory for India and validation of its stance”.
The proposal had been brought forward by the US, Britain and France after the Kashmir attacks – the deadliest in the disputed region during a 30-year-long insurgency.
The attack worsened tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India, with war temporarily appearing a real possibility.
China – a long-time ally of Pakistan – had previously blocked the sanctions committee from imposing sanctions on Masood Azhar in 2016 and 2017 but agreed to the proposal on Wednesday.
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