India pursuing China to declare JeM Chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist: Rajnath Singh

In last nine months, China has twice put technical hold on the listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief ​Masood Azhar as UN-designated terrorist.

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said India was pursuing China to declare Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist.

Singh's statement comes just days after Beijing blocked New Delhi's move to list Azhar as a UN designated terrorist.

In April, China had blocked India's move to label the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief a terrorist, a decision that had angered New Delhi which has been trying to convince Beijing to reconsider the decision. In September, it had extended its decision to put a technical hold on the UN's 1267 Committee declaring Azhar a terrorist by three months.

In last nine months, China has twice put technical hold on the listing of Azhar as designated terrorist, that would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan.

Unfazed by Beijing's repeated blocks, India, has however, maintained that it will continue to push forward with resolute determination "through the use of all options available to bring perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice".

Reacting to Beijing's move Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said: "We note with concern China's decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council which had been presented nine months ago and had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee."

"The inability of the international community to list its leader Masood Azhar is an unfortunate blow to the concerted efforts to effectively counter all forms of terrorism, and confirms prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism."