ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Wednesday it has no objection to the decision by a UN Security Council committee to blacklist Masood Azhar, the head of the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).Azhar’s Pakistan-based group is accused of carrying out several high-profile attacks in India and Western powers for years have been calling for him to be sanctioned. China, a staunch ally of Pakistan, has repeatedly opposed the moves but dropped its objection to the blacklisting on Wednesday, ending a long diplomatic impasse.“The listing in question has been under consideration of the Sanctions Committee for almost a decade,” said Mohammed Faisal, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Office. “Previous proposals did not meet the technical criteria as they included factors unrelated to the listing rules and were thus rejected.“The recent listing proposal was presented on the basis of considerations beyond the listing parameters. As a result, a technical hold was placed by China to bring it in line with the listing criteria.”Faisal said Islamabad had agreed to the blacklisting after it removed references to an attack on Feb. 14 in the Indian city of Pulwama, for which JeM claimed responsibility, and references linking it to the insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which Pakistan considers a struggle for self-determination.“We’re going to enforce this decision forthwith,” Faisal said, referring to a travel ban and freeze on Azhar’s assets resulting from the blacklisting.Islamabad has accused India of attempting to use the UN committee in an unfair way.“Pakistan has always advocated the need for respecting these technical rules and regulations and has opposed the politicization of the Sanctions Committee,” he said. “Earlier proposals were aimed at maligning Pakistan and the legitimate struggle of the people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”Five previous attempts to blacklist Azhar were blocked by China, which is a permanent member of the Security Council and wields the power to veto any “substantive” resolution.Azhar’s continued freedom in Pakistan has been a sore point in the relationship between Western countries and Islamabad. The latest attempt to sanction him began in February, when the US, Britain and France asked the Security Council’s Islamic State and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee to impose an arms embargo and travel ban on the JeM founder and freeze his assets. The move by the 15-member committee, which operates by consensus, was once again blocked by China.The three nations stepped up their efforts in March by proposing a resolution that would have needed nine votes in favor and no vetoes to pass. After further negotiations, they submitted a new sanctions request to the committee on Sunday, which was agreed on Wednesday.“We support the listing issue being settled…through dialogue and consultation,” said Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday, while the decision was still being discussed.Following the attack in February in Kashmir, India carried out an aerial bombing mission in Pakistan, the first of its kind since the war between the countries in December 1971. Pakistan responded with an aerial bombardment the following day, and the two countries fought a brief dogfight in the skies over Kashmir. Tensions began to ease when Pakistan, amid pressure from global powers, returned an Indian pilot whose plane was shot down over Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.Islamabad subsequently vowed to crack down on anti-India militants and other violent groups operating on its soil. It has shut down some madrassas linked to such organizations, and has placed relatives of Azhar in “protective custody.”
