China Opposes Indian-US Request To Designate Shahid Mahmood Of The LeT As A Global Terrorist At UN

A resolution to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Shahid Mahmood as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was put on hold by China on Wednesday.

The resolution had been proposed by India and the US. This is the fourth time in as many months that Beijing has turned down a request to put a terrorist on the international organization’s blacklist.

The US Treasury Department reportedly labelled Mahmood and LeT senior leader Muhammad Sarwar as international terrorists in 2016. The American intervention at the time was a component of a plan to dismantle Lashkar-e Taiba’s (LeT) funding and support systems.

Acting Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control John E. Smith had stated that “these two Lashkar-e-Taiba executives are responsible for raising and moving monies to support the terrorist group’s operations.”

Mahmood has been a longtime major LeT member with a base in Karachi, Pakistan, from at least 2007, according to the US Department of the Treasury. Mahmood served as the vice chairman of the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation, LeT’s charity and fundraising organisation, from June 2015 until at least June 2016. (FIF).

In 2014, Mahmood presided over the FIF in Karachi. In August 2013, he was later acknowledged as a member of the LeT publishing wing. Mahmood had previously been a member of Sajjid Mir’s LeT overseas operations team. Mahmood was also told in August 2013 to establish covert ties with Islamic groups in Bangladesh and Burma, and as of late 2011, Mahmood asserted that LeT’s main focus should be attacking India and America, according to the US Department of Treasury.

China has consistently defended Pakistani terrorists in the United Nations

Beijing has halted calls to designate individuals living in Pakistan as terrorists under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee system four times during the previous few months. China blocked India and the US from designating Pakistani terrorist Sajid Mir as the most wanted terrorist earlier in September. The US asked the UN to classify Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a worldwide terrorist organisation, and terrorist Sajid Mir is the notorious member of this group. India had supported this idea.

Sajid Mir, the terrorist who is wanted most by India, took part in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The resolution to designate Sajid Mir as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council was put out by the United States and co-signed by India.

The proposal by the US and India to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chairman Masood Azhar and a top commander of the terror group with headquarters in Pakistan, was again put on hold by China in August. Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, has also enjoyed the steadfast support of Beijing, which has defended him against US-Indian demands to list him as a global terrorist on multiple occasions.

Additionally, China protected Abdul Rehman Makki, the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Taiba. China opposed an effort by India and the US to have Abdul Rehman Makki, a terrorist living in Pakistan, included to the Security Council’s Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee’s list of international terrorists in June.

As the organization’s deputy commander, Abdul Rehman Makki is the brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed. The UN committee has also labelled the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the political branch of Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a terrorist front organisation. It should be noted that under UN Security Council Resolution 1267, those who support or finance the activities of ISIL, al-Qaeda, and other connected people, groups, undertakings, and institutions are subject to penalties.

Terrorism should not be used as a political tool: EAM Jaishankar

S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, had spoken to the media in September to criticise China for making the UNSC 1267 Sanctions system politicised. “Terrorism shouldn’t be used as a political tool, and it defies logic to prohibit something without providing a justification.

As a response to terrorism, the UN penalises the culprits. It is dangerous for people to politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the point of supporting declared terrorists. Believe me, they don’t improve their reputation or even their own interests,” he had remarked.

However, the decision made by China today coincides with Antonio Guterres’ visit to India as UN Secretary-General. Additionally, Guterres paid respect to the Mumbai terrorist attack victims on 26/11. According to reports, Mahmood and Muhammad Sarwar flew to Gaza, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Syria, and Turkey in 2010 for LeT and FIF business. Additionally, Mahmood, Sajid Mir, Makki, and Sarwar have already collaborated on a variety of projects.