"Victory For American Diplomacy": Mike Pompeo On UN Ban On Masood Azhar

Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist is "a victory for American diplomacy", US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted today after the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief was blacklisted by the UN Security Council. China, which had blocked moves to blacklist Masood Azhar four times, finally dropped its objections saying it "found no objection after a careful study of revised materials".

"Congrats to our team @USUN for their work in negotiating JEM's Masood Azhar's #UN designation as a terrorist. This long-awaited action is a victory for American diplomacy and the international community against terrorism, and an important step towards peace in South Asia," the Secretary of State tweeted.

Designating the Jaish chief a global terrorist is a big diplomatic win for India, which had relentlessly pursued the matter with its international allies.

Congrats to our team @USUN for their work in negotiating JEM's Masood Azhar's #UN designation as a terrorist. This long-awaited action is a victory for American diplomacy and the international community against terrorism, and an important step towards peace in South Asia.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 2, 2019

On Wednesday, the US had said blacklisting the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief demonstrates international commitment to rooting out terrorism in Pakistan.

A White House official said that after 10 years, China has done the right thing by lifting its blockade. "I think China seems to have understood that it was increasingly important that it's actions on the international stage on terrorism matched it's rhetoric," news agency PTI quoted the White House official as saying on the condition of anonymity. Pulwama attack, the official noted was just the latest in the terrorist attacks that this "deadly group" has conducted.

Keeping up the international pressure to designate Masood Azhar a global terrorist, the US, supported by France and the UK, had moved a draft resolution directly in the UN Security Council to blacklist him.

France too welcomed the UN Security Council's move, saying it "signals the successful realisation" of its efforts. "For many years, French diplomacy has been relentlessly pleading for sanctioning Azhar, "head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack", said a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs of France.

(With inputs from PTI)