China may not be willing to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, but the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief is clearly spewing venom against India and planning more attacks on the nation. In a dossier that India provided to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Azhar can be heard saying that the February 14 Pulwama attack was "only the first dose."
In the 15-minute long recording, the JeM chief can be heard saying that the terror group would carry out "further attacks" on India and would not stop until New Delhi surrenders Kashmir to Pakistan.
"Pakistan and Kashmir are not separate entities," DNA quoted him as saying in the recording. "Kashmiris say Kashmir is part of Pakistan, but I say Pakistan is part of Kashmir. If Kashmir is not surrendered, fire will reach Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and subsequently engulf the entire country."
The JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack, which resulted in the death of over 40 CRPF personnel and injured many others. Azhar is also said to be the mastermind of many terror attacks in India including the 2001 J&K Assembly attack that killed 30. Soon after, the JeM terrorists also attacked the Parliament. The group also attacked the Pathankot air force base in 2016, and an army camp in Uri in 2018 that killed 18 soldiers.
After the Pulwama attack, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France had charted out a fresh proposal asking the UNSC to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, which would mean a global travel ban, freezing of assets and arms embargo. Before the March 13 deadline, India was said to have reached out to many allies including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia for support. And the US had said that Azhar was a global terrorist and not categorising him as one would be a threat to regional stability and peace.
"Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar meets the criteria to be designated as a global terrorist and not doing so is against regional stability and peace," the Press Trust of India had quoted the US as saying.
However, China has consistently blocked the move despite these attacks, the JeM claiming responsibility for them, and India providing a dossier to the UNSC. On March 13 too, China, which is an ally of Pakistan, put a "technical hold" on the proposal, reported Reuters. However, China gave no reason for the hold.
