The Indian government has reacted to China's decision to block the US' decision to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on Friday, November 3, in a befitting response to China's refusal in declaring Azhar as a global terrorist, said, "Accommodating with terrorism for narrow objectives is short-sighted and counterproductive."
"I think the decision by a country to block a consensus should not be seen as an end to our counter-terrorism efforts. What is important is that it does not, in any way, take away our resolve to fight terrorism," said an MEA spokesperson on Friday.
"We are deeply disappointed that once again, a single country has blocked international consensus on the designation of an acknowledged terrorist and leader of the UN-designated terrorist organisation, Masood Azhar," he added.
This is the fourth attempt by China on Thursday, where it has created a non-consensus among the United Nations (UN) sanctions committee. Like few other nations including India and the US, China also needs to declare Azhar as a global terrorist to UN, only then the sanctions committee go forward with the decision.
The MEA has meanwhile said that India will continue to fight against terrorism alongside other like-minded countries.
China of late has been using its veto power to shield the JeM chief since a long time.
Once China agrees to give its consent at the Security Council, the UNSC can then go ahead with the consensus of India and US to put a ban on Masood Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council.
This ban will stop Azhar to travel from one country to another and will ease the task of intelligence agencies to trace him from anywhere around the world.
Azhar, who is the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack in India, and has been the centre of a diplomatic tiff between India, US and China, is reportedly now in Pakistan.
Last year, of the 14 countries who presented their consensus to declare Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN, China was the only one to object India's application to freeze Azhar's assets and put a travel ban on him.
The MEA spokesperson further said they will request Malaysia to extradite Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik.
