Shah Mehmood Qureshi hints Pakistan may not oppose listing of Masood Azhar as global terrorist

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday hinted that his country may not oppose the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist in the United Nations Security Council.

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 04 Mar 2019 10:57 PM (IST)

Shah Mehmood Qureshi hints Pakistan may not oppose listing of Azhar Masood as global terrorist Shah Mehmood Qureshi hints Pakistan may not oppose listing of Masood Azhar as global terrorist

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi / Image tweeted by @SMQureshiPTI

Pakistan may not oppose the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist in the United Nations Security Council, hints Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Last week, the US, the UK and France moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist.

If we want to protect the International image of Pakistan then no excuse will be acceptable because people now want a verifiable action, Qureshi said.

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday hinted that his country may not oppose the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist in the United Nations Security Council. "Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi said in an interview with Geo TV. "If we want to protect the International image of Pakistan then no excuse will be acceptable because people now want a verifiable action," the foreign minister said. Last week, the US, the UK and France moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, a listing that will subject him to global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo.

Foreign Minister @SMQureshiPTI clearly said that Pakistan will take “verifiable action against banned outfits”which means a lot and most probably Pakistan may not oppose any resolution against JeM in UNSC pic.twitter.com/nQyv5KuPJp
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) March 4, 2019

"We have to make a decision with political consensus. The international community has got the message that Pakistan wants peace," Qureshi told Geo TV, without elaborating. Describing the situation following the Pulwama terror attack as a "defining moment" for Pakistan, he said Pakistan doesn't want to go for a war with India. "We want peace. Our people want jobs, they want reforms in institutions, they want us to crackdown on corruption...," he added. In 2009, India moved a proposal to designate Azhar, whose UN-proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed. In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 - the US, the UK and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. 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. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time. India has strongly reiterated its appeal to all members of the international community to support the proposal to list terrorists, including Azhar, as designated terrorists under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, and to ban terrorist organisations operating from territories controlled by Pakistan.

Published at : 04 Mar 2019 10:54 PM (IST)

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Shah Mehmood Qureshi Masood Azhar Pakistan India