France freezes Azhar assets, for Europe ban

Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 15

France has applied national sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar in what it hopes will eventually become a pan-Europe listing. India welcomed the move, but suggested that it had not overtly backed it. It is not clear whether the move is symbolic or JeM has substantial assets that can be frozen.

The French freezing of Masood’s assets by the application of its Monetary and Financial Code will ensure no funds from and to Masood can go through the country, said an Embassy spokesperson here.

As the first European Union country to sanction Masood, Paris is now pushing for a European ban. In conjunction with India, it will be nudging individual countries to put a national ban on the JeM chief. It hopes the number of countries sanctioning Masood will gather enough critical mass to persuade the EU to impose a ban. After the inability of the UNSC to list Masood as a global terrorist, agencies had quoted an “unnamed” Indian diplomat as saying that India was exploring other diplomatic options.

Regional bans on Masood are expected to embarrass China, which had argued that it had put a technical hold on his listing because it needed time to examine the material on record. 

“France has always been and always will be by India’s side in the fight against terrorism,” said the French statement. France is in the race for orders for fighter aircraft and submarines worth $20 billion.

An earlier batch of French-origin submarines is being inducted in the Indian Navy, besides an order book of 36 Rafale fighter planes. France also plans to set up six nuclear plants worth another $20 billion. Economic and financial sanctions are instruments of France’s foreign policy. 

‘Global support now’

Leaders who term China’s blocking of banning Masood Azhar at UN a diplomatic failure must see that India was alone when the move was first made in 2009 under UPA, while it has worldwide support in 2019. — Sushma Swaraj, External affairs minister