China blocks proposal to blacklist 26/11 mastermind

New Delhi, September 17

China has again blocked a joint US-India proposal at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to list a Pakistan-based terrorist Sajid Mir who is wanted for the 26/11 massacre in Mumbai.

This is the third time in the past four months Beijing has put on hold the blacklisting of terrorists believed to be holed up in Pakistan.

Beijing put the “hold” on Thursday on the proposal at the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UNSC to list Mir as a global terrorist which will freeze his assets and put him under a travel ban.

Pakistan, which had earlier claimed that Mir had died, now claims that he has been sentenced for 15 years in a terror-financing case. Last month, China had put a hold on a US-India proposal to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. In June, China had put a hold on another Indo-US joint proposal to list Abdul Rehman Makki under the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

All three have been named Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the United States. A US State Department note on Mir says with a bounty of $5 million, he is a senior member of the Pakistan-based LeT and played a leading role in planning, preparation and execution of the Mumbai attacks.

Third such attempt by India, US in 4 months

• Last month, a proposal to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, brother of Jaish-e- Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, was put on hold
• In June, a proposal to list AR Makki under the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was put on hold