KNZ NEWS DESK
Washington: Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar is a “bad guy” and should be declared a global terrorist, the US has said as China blocked a bid at the UN to list Pathankot terror attack mastermind as a designated terrorist.
Last week, China for the fourth time had blocked a proposal backed by the US, France and Britain to list Azhar as a global terrorist, citing a lack of consensus among the members of the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.
The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN’s list of banned terror outfits.
“We certainly think that he is a bad guy. We would like to have him on that list,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said at a press conference when asked about China’s move.
“There are some committee discussions that are underway over whether to add him or the entity to the sanctions list.
That list is confidential under the United Nations, so unfortunately, I am not going to be able to comment on the deliberations at the UN under that,” Nauert said.
“I d have to refer you to the Chinese Government to explain why they voted the way they did, but we certainly think that this guy is a bad guy, she said when asked about China’s action.
“We consider the organisation to be a foreign terrorist organisation under the US law, Nauert said.
A veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India’s move to put a ban on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council. PTI
