India slams China for blocking bid to blacklist 26/11 accused Sajid Mir
New Delhi, June 21: India on Wednesday slammed China for its move to block a proposal at the UN to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir as a global terrorist. Notably, Sajid Mir is wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
In a sharply worded statement issued hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the United Nations on International Yoga Day, India stated that if the proposal to blacklist terrorists fails despite the support of several member states, "we have righteous reasons to believe that something is genuinely wrong with the global counter-terrorism architecture."
"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," India added.
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"In this day and age of accountability and transparency, can we have genuine listing proposals blocked without giving any reason for the same?" India asked. Also, "can we allow for the submission of proposals under the garb of anonymity?"
China on Tuesday designate a proposal by the United States and India to designate Sajid Mir as a global terrorist under the UN Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee. Mir is wanted for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The proposal also called for Mir's assets to be frozen, as well as a travel ban and an arms embargo.
China apparently put on hold the move to name Mir a global terrorist at the UN in September, but it has now blocked it.
At the UN counter-terrorism meeting in 2022, India detailed Pakistan's involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. It also provided as proof an audio tape of Sajid Mir directing the attack on Chabad House.
Mir was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in a terror-financing case by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in June of last year.
Earlier, Pakistan had claimed that Mir had dead, but other countries were sceptical and wanted proof of his death. Last year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessed Pakistan's progress on the action plan, and this became a key sticking point.
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- With inputs from agencies
