Politics Shouldn't Prevent UN From Sanctioning Terrorists, Says India

India has called for impartiality in sanctioning terrorists at the UN Security Council, days after China blocked a proposal by the US and India to blacklist Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir.

Sajid Mir is one of India's most wanted terrorists and the main handler of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. China blocking his listing at the UN Security Council, or UNSC, was the third such move by Beijing within four months.

Last month, China put a hold on a proposal by the US and India to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar. In June, China put another hold on a proposal to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki.

Alluding to these developments, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told the UNSC today, "Politics should never ever provide cover to evade accountability. Nor indeed to facilitate impunity. Regrettably, we have seen this of late in this very chamber (UNSC), when it comes to sanctioning some of the world's most dreaded terrorists."

"If egregious attacks committed in broad daylight are left unpunished, this council must reflect on the signals we are sending on impunity. There must be consistency if we are to ensure credibility," he said.

Beijing, an all-weather friend of Islamabad, has repeatedly put on hold on India and US's proposals to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists under the sanctions committee of the UNSC.

Abdul Rehman Makki, whose listing at the UN as a terrorist was blocked by China in June, is a US-designated terrorist and brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Taiba head and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed. Beijing placed a hold on the proposal at the last minute.

The other terrorist, Sajid Mir, was in charge of Lashkar's external terror operations from 2006 to 2011. He was indicted in the US in April 2011 for this role in the Mumbai 2008 attacks.