Protecting well known terrorists from sanctioning will only undermine China’s credibility

New Delhi, Jun 17: China's decision to block a joint proposal by India and the US to designate Pakistan-based Abdul Rehman Makki as an international terrorist under the UN sanctions committee runs counter to Beijing's claim of combating terrorism and signals its "double standards", government sources here said on Friday.

Protecting well-known terrorists from sanctioning will only undermine China's credibility and "risk exposing" even itself more to the growing threat of terrorism, they said., according to news agency PTI.

Makki has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youths to resort to violence and planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.

On June 1, India and the US jointly proposed to list Makki under the UN Security Council's Al-Qaeda and ISIL Sanctions Committee which is also known as the UNSC 1267 Committee.

Both India and the US have already listed Makki as a terrorist under their domestic laws.

China has placed a "technical hold" on the proposal to list Makki and this measure can last for up to six months at a time.

"This decision by China is extremely unfortunate given the overwhelming evidence against Makki. Moreover, it runs counter to China's claims of combating terrorism," said a source.

It was not the first time that China has placed hurdles for the listing of known terrorists as it had repeatedly blocked proposals to designate Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of Pakistan-based and UN-proscribed terrorist entity Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the sources said.

"China should reflect on its response that signals double standards on combating terrorism. Protecting well-known terrorists from sanctioning in this manner will only undermine its credibility and risk exposing even itself more to the growing threat of terrorism," the source said.

Makki is the head of the political affairs of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jamat ud-Dawa (JuD), and served as head of LeT's foreign relations department, the sources said.

The LeT has been involved in major attacks in India such as the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Red Fort Attack in 2000, Rampur CRPF Camp attack in January 2008, Khanpora (Baramulla) attack in 2018, Srinagar attack in June 2018 and Gurez/Bandipora attack in 2018, the sources said.

Makki was reportedly arrested by the Pakistan government on May 15, 2019, and was kept under house arrest in Lahore. In 2020, he was convicted of terrorism financing and was sentenced to prison by a Pakistani court, they said.

The proposal to list Makki under the UN Security Council sanctions regime was circulated to all members of the Council's 1267 Committee under a no-objection procedure till June 16.

"Regrettably, on June 16, China placed a 'technical hold' on the proposal to list Makki. This measure blocks the adoption of the listing proposal till the hold is withdrawn," the source said.

(PTI)