New Delhi: India is approaching China and the rest 14 countries which are members of the United Nations Security Council to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.  As per news agency PTI, a fresh move has been made to get Azhar banned by the world body.“We are reaching out to all the 15 UNSC member countries both in New Delhi as well as in their respective capitals. We will leave no stone unturned to get support of all member countries”, PTI quoted a source.

A proposal has already been moved by the US, Britain and France at the UN Security Council last week to designate the chief of JeM which claimed the responsibility of the ghastly terror attack in Pulwama, that claimed lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

Any UNSC member country can seek clarification on the proposal till March 13, after which the process to listing will begin, it said citing sources.

If Azhar gets listed by UNSC, he will be subjected to global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. It will send a huge political signal to Pakistan that it must dismantle the terror infrastructure in its territory.

It is India’s fourth attempt to designate Azhar in the last 10 years. In 2009, India unsuccessfully moved a proposal to designate Azhar. In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 - the US, the United Kingdom and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar.

In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions, China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale postponed a scheduled visit to Iran and China following the escalation in Indo-Pak ties. Gokhale was to travel to Tehran on March 3.

Meanwhile, on the Indo-Pak tensions, the UN Secretary general Antonio Guterres has not spoken to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani PM Imran Khan, while he has been in touch with other leaders on both sides to express his concern over the tension between the two nations, IANS reported citing his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

"We are fully aware of the situation," he told reporters on Tuesday. "The Secretary-General has had no calls with those two heads of government as far as I am aware, but he has had contacts with both sides to express his concern and the need to do as much as anyone can to de-escalate the tensions".