New Delhi: Britain on Friday defended its move to block India's efforts to get Jaish-e-Mohammad founder Maulana Masood Azhar proscribed by the UN Security Council, saying more evidence was needed to put him on the terror list.
"We did not resist or oppose...We need time to gather more evidence against him (Azhar) so that we can defend the case in court," British High Commissioner to India Sir Richard Stagg told reporters in New Delhi.
He was responding to a question on Britain and China blocking India's efforts to put Azhar, released by New Delhi in exchange for hostages of the hijacked IC-814 flight, on the UNSC terror list.
However, New Delhi feels the move by the UK was to curry favours with Pakistan.
Britain knows that terrorism affecting it comes from Pakistan and feels it could deal with such a problem by keeping Islamabad in good humour, India believes.
Meanwhile, sources here said India is making all efforts to get Azhar, along with two top Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists --Azam Cheema and Abdur Rehman Makki, banned by the UN Security Council under its Resolution 1267 of December last year.