India has criticised the use of hidden veto by China, blocking its bid at the United Nations (U.N.) to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar.
India’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Syed Akbaruddin told the U.N. Security Council here that general members are never informed about the reason for not acceding to requests for sanctioning terrorists.
Akbaruddin said this in an open debate on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts’, adding that the procedures of unanimity and anonymity of the Al Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State Sanctions Committees need to be revisited.
“Counter terror mechanisms such as the Sanctions Committees that act on behalf of the international community need to build trust not engender impunity by the use of this form of a hidden veto,” said Akbaruddin.
After the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January, India had in February written to the U.N. calling for immediate action to list Masood Azhar under the U.N. Sanctions Committee.
All were told that if there are no objections, the designation will be announced after the expiry of the deadline, but just hours before the deadline, China requested the U.N. committee to keep on hold the designation.
China had said any listing would have to meet the requirements, stressing that it was the Council members’ responsibility to ensure that the criteria were followed. (ANI)