India Slams China's Move Blocking Bid To Blacklist Pak Terrorist Sajid Mir Accused In 26/11
India has slammed China over its move to block the bid to blacklist Pakistan terrorist Sajid Mir, accused in Mumbai attacks.
India has sharply criticised China at the United Nations for blocking proposals to designate Lashkar-e-Tayyiba's Sajid Mir, also an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, as 'global terrorist' for 'petty geopolitical interests'. Prakash Gupta, Joint Secretary, MEA said, "If we cannot get established terrorists who have been proscribed across global landscapes listed under security council architecture for pure geopolitical interest, then we do not really have the genuine political will needed to sincerely fight this challenge of terrorism..."
"Representing a pluralistic and diverse democracy, which is home to all religions of the world, it is our considered submission that the United Nations Global counter terrorism architecture must treat all religions equally and avoid any selective singling out that tends to elevate one religion over another," he stated.
China on Tuesday blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to designate top Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant Sajid Mir, one of India's most sought terrorists and the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, as a global terrorist, news agency PTI reported.
Beijing vetoed a request by the United States and India to name Mir as a global terrorist under the UN Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee and subject him to asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes.
It was revealed in September of last year that China had put a hold on the effort to designate Mir as a global terrorist at the United Nations. The proposal has now been blocked by Beijing.
Mir is one of India's most wanted terrorists, and the United States has set a $5 million bounty on his head for his participation in the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes carried out by Pakistan-based LeT terrorists.
In June of last year, he was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in a terror-financing case by a court in Pakistan, which is battling to get off the grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Earlier, Pakistani officials declared Mir dead, but Western countries were skeptical and wanted confirmation of his death. In 2021, this problem became a key sticking point in FATF's evaluation of Pakistan's progress on the action plan.
"Mir was LeT’s operations manager for the attacks, playing a leading role in their planning, preparation, and execution,” the US State Department was quoted by PTI in its report.
Beijing, Islamabad's all-weather buddy, has frequently put stays on UN Security Council sanctions committee designations to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists.
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