India today slammed China for opposing a resolution to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir as a global terrorist at the United Nations Security Council and stated that the move exhibits double standards and a “self-defeating justification” of terrorism.
Several member countries co-sponsored the motion to blacklist him, but India noted that if it failed, “we have righteous reasons to believe that something is genuinely wrong with the global counter-terrorism architecture.” India and the United States had jointly moved the resolution to recognise Sajid Mir as a global terrorist and subject him to asset freezing, travel restrictions, and an arms embargo under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UNSC.
India’s reaction was expressed in a statement that joint secretary Prakash Gupta read out at a high-level session on counterterrorism on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly. It observed, “If we cannot get established terrorists who have been banned across global landscapes proscribed by the United Nations – for petty geopolitical interests – then we really do NOT have the genuine political will to sincerely fight this challenge of terrorism,” in a sharp attack without naming the country.
“In this day and age of accountability and transparency, can we have genuine listing proposals blocked without giving any reason for the same,” New Delhi questioned and added that “can we allow for the submission of proposals under the garb of anonymity?”
Breaking: India reacts on China blocking Sajid Mir's listing as Global Terrorist; Indian diplomat Prakash Gupta @PrakashMEA (Joint Secretary, UN Political at MEA) at UN counter terror meet terms the development done for "petty geopolitical interests" https://t.co/kLm1HFv9Rz pic.twitter.com/YPZJkroi66
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) June 21, 2023
The move to designate Sajid Mir, a senior member of LeT, was reportedly first put on hold by China in September and now has been stymied by it. He is one of India’s most wanted terrorists and has a bounty of $5 million placed on his head by the U.S. for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. US State Department revealed, “Mir was LeT’s operations manager for the attacks, playing a leading role in their planning, preparation, and execution.”
In a case involving the funding of terrorism, Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court sentenced him to more than 15 years in prison in June. In the past, Pakistan authorities had asserted that he had passed away, but Western nations had not been persuaded and had demanded proof of the same. Late last year, when Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluated the country’s progress on the action plan, the issue arose as a significant sticking point.
