India welcomes global terror tag for LeT terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki

Arindam Bagchi said India remains committed to pursuing a zero tolerance approach to terrorism.

New Delhi, Jan 17: India has welcomed the decision of listing of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki by UNSC's ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.

Responding to a media query, Arindam Bagchi, official spokeperson of the ministry, said, "We welcome the decision of the UN Security Council's ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee to list Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki, who is also the brother-in-law of LeT leader Hafiz Saeed. Makki has occupied various leadership roles in LeT, including raising funds for the organisation.

Threats from terrorist organisations in the region remain high and listings and sanctions by the UNSC, are an effective tool to curb such threats and dismantle terror infrastructure in the region, the spokesperson said.

"India remains committed to pursuing a zero tolerance approach to terrorism and will continue to press the international community to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorism," he added.

In a major diplomatic victory for India, Abdul Rehman Makki was designated a global terrorist by the UN after China lifted its hold on a joint India-US proposal to blacklist the deputy chief of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, paving the way for the Security Council's Al Qaeda sanctions committee to list him through consensus, PTI reported.

The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIL (Da'esh) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee added 68-year-old Makki to its list of designated terrorists on Monday, subjecting him to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, after years of efforts by India and its allies. The development comes seven months after Pakistan's close ally China had put a hold on June 16, 2022 on a joint proposal by India and the US to designate the head of the political affairs wing of JuD/LeT and the brother-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.

Decisions to list individuals and entities under the 1267 sanctions committee are made through consensus. Of the 15 Security Council members that make up the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, veto-wielding permanent member China was the sole hold-out during the process to list Makki.

In 2009, India first moved a proposal to designate Azhar. This was followed by similar efforts together with the US, the UK and France in 2016 and 2017 but on all occasions, China's holds blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the sanctions committee.

With inputs from PTI