UK says it is optimistic of Masood Azhar's listing as global terrorist by UN

UK is waiting to see whether the country (China), which has been resisting it, will lift their hold, and is optimistic of it happening, said British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith.

Masood Azhar (Source: AFP)

New Delhi: The United Kingdom on Friday said that it was positive about the United Nations listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and called for verifiable and irreversible action against terror groups by Pakistan. British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith, while talking to reporters, also said that Britain was actively involved in bringing down the temperature between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments, news agency PTI reported. On Masood Azhar’s designation he said, UK is waiting to see whether the country (China), which has been resisting it, will lift their hold. He said UK remains optimistic of it happening. "We are strong supporter of listing of Azhar. We hope there will be conclusion to the issue soon," he was quoted as saying by the news agency. Last month, China had put last-minute technical holds on a fresh proposal to impose a ban on Azhar in the wake of Pulwama attack which claimed lives of 40 CRPF personnel. It was for the fourth time, China blocked Azhar's listing. The fresh proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US. Asked whether the UK played any role in de-escalation of tension between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, Asquith said, "We were very actively involved." The British government spoke to a variety of "actors" and stakeholders in Pakistan on what it expected from Islamabad, he said, adding Islamabad was conveyed to take "verifiable" and "irreversible action" against terror groups operating along the Line of Control. (inputs from PTI)