Pak, China team up again, say UN counter-terrorism mechanism being politicised

United Nations, March 30: The international community seems to have been deeply polarized over the United Nation's (UN) counter-terrorism machinery. While India and many western countries have been trying hard to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, countries like China and Pakistan feel that "politicizing" the international body's counter-terrorism machinery would weaken the regime through compromise and warned against "forcefully moving" a resolution in the UN Security Council.

According to reports by Pakistan media, the country's ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi said that mechanisms like FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and 1267 Sanctions regimes (ISIL (Da'esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee) should not be used as political tools by some to fulfil their own geopolitical goals.

"There is also a need to make these institutions more inclusive of the wider membership in their decision-making processes," she was quoted as saying.

On Thursday, March 28, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing that "forcefully moving" a resolution directly in the UNSC weakened the authority of the UN anti-terrorism committee.

"This is not in line with resolution of the issue through dialogue and negotiations. This has reduced the authority of the Committee as a main anti-terrorism body of the UNSC and this is not conducive to the solidarity and only complicates the issue," he said.

On Wednesday, March 27, the US moved a resolution in the UNSC directly, seeking to list Azhar as a UN-designated global terrorist. Two weeks ago, the US, Britain and France had also moved a similar resolution but China used its discretionary powers to put a hold on it. Beijing promised to review the situation, including the allegations that India has brought against Azhar, and reconsider its stand on the resolution.

Lodhi also said on the occasion that Pakistan has been the "principal victim" of terrorism, including that supported from abroad.

"But this has not diminished my country's resolve to eliminate this scourge," she said.