China's lone opposition to mentioning of terrorism delayed UNSC resolution by a week

The UNSC statement was to be released on February 15, but China requested an extension till February 18.

Chinese President Xi Jinping/ (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP)

New Delhi: The United Nation Security Council’s resolution which condemned the Pulwama attack in a language proposed by India, was delayed by a week due to China’s single-handed opposition, agencies said citing official sources. China’s lone opposition in the 15-member body of the UN, to any mention of terrorism in the resolution, resulted in a weeklong delay in its furnishing, news agency PTI said citing official sources. It said that the United States, despite China’s opposition, worked as “pen holder”, making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the council. The statement as per the agency, was to be released on February 15, but China requested an extension till February 18.  China broke “silence” procedure two times suggesting multiple amendments aiming to derail the effort, the agency said. While China was trying to water down the UNSC statement, Pakistan worked against issuance of any such statement. Pakistan’s permanent representative at the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi even met the President of Security council but her efforts did not bear any fruit. However, in spite of hectic Chinese and Pakistani efforts, the top UN body agreed to issue the statement. It was the first ever statement in the history regarding an attack on Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir, which mentioned the named of terror outfit “Jaish-e-Mohammed”. The United Nations Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the Pulwama terror attack executed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group that killed over 40 CRPF soldiers and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of "these reprehensible acts" of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The 15-nation body includes China as a permanent veto-wielding member that has in the past blocked India's bids in the Security Council Sanctions committee to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorism. Even after the issuance of the resolution China has attempted to downplay the scathing statement issued by the powerful organ of the world body, saying the mention of the Pakistan-based outfit was only in "general terms" and "does not represent a judgement