Washington, March 13: The United States of America (USA) on Tuesday asked China not to block the move to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The decision whether to include Azhar in the list of global terrorists will be taken in the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) meeting today. The JeM chief is responsible for carrying out several terror attacks in India including the February 14 Pulwama Attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred. Masood Azhar is Alive, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Chief’s Family Denies Death Reports: Pakistan Media.

US State Dept Dy spokesperson Robert Palladino said, “Masood Azhar is the founder and the leader of JEM, and he meets the criteria for designation by the United Nations. JEM has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and is a threat to regional stability and peace.” He further added, “Now, UN sanctions committee, their deliberations are confidential, and as such we don’t comment on specific matters, but we’ll continue to work with the sanctions committee to ensure that the designation list is updated and accurate.” Masood Azhar's Brother Confirms IAF Mirage 2000 Jets Hit Jaish Training Camps in Balakot Air Strikes.

After the Pulwama attack, three permanent members of the UNSC - the United States, Britain and France - have moved a resolution to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. Several previous attempts by these three countries inside the UN Security Council were blocked by China, the all-weather ally of Pakistan. China, which is one of the five veto-powered members of the Security Council, so far has been asserting that there is not enough evidence against Azhar to designate him as a global terrorist.

(With agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2019 10:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).