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Analysis | Pakistan-based terrorist’s UN blacklisting offers hope for India-China relations
- Beijing had opposed the international sanctioning of Jaish-e-Mohammad head Masood Azhar numerous times over the past decade
- But its reversal this week amid international pressure has removed ‘suspicion’ in New Delhi over its intentions, observers say
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Beijing’s decision to accept the international blacklisting of a Pakistan-based terrorist after a decade of opposition has given Sino-Indian ties a boost, according to observers.
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Masood Azhar, founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group that claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kashmir on February 14 which killed 40 Indian soldiers, was added to the United Nations Security Council’s Islamic State and al-Qaeda sanctions blacklist on Wednesday. He will now be subject to a travel ban, freeze on his assets and an arms embargo.
Alka Acharya, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for East Asian Studies, said India had “every reason to celebrate” the decision.
“I think it has removed a major hurdle – a suspicion – in Indian circles about Chinese intentions in its fight against terrorism,” she said.
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China, a permanent member of the Security Council, blocked the assembly’s move to sanction Azhar in 2016 and 2017. India first proposed the sanctions in 2009.
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