No information on India's move to call Masood Azhar a terrorist, says Pakistan

In response to a question asked by India Today regarding Pakistan's reaction to the Indian move to list Masood Azhar with UN Sanctions Committee, the Spokesperson of Pakistan's Ministry of External Affairs said, "We have no information so far if any such case has been moved in the United Nations Sanctions Committee, which has its own guidelines and procedures to handle listing issues.

IndiaToday.in

New Delhi, February 26, 2016 | Posted by Manish Kumar Pathak | UPDATED 18:59 IST

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In response to a question asked by India Today regarding Pakistan's reaction to the Indian move to list Masood Azhar with UN Sanctions Committee, the Spokesperson of Pakistan's Ministry of External Affairs said, "We have no information so far if any such case has been moved in the United Nations Sanctions Committee, which has its own guidelines and procedures to handle listing issues. Therefore, I am not in a position to comment on this specifically. On the whole, as it is widely acknowledged, Pakistan is deeply committed to and played an important role in the global counter terrorism efforts. We have always abided by our international obligations."

Earlier, India had pushed the UN to include the name of Masood Azhar, leader of the proscribed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group, in its list of designated terrorists, according to an External Affairs Ministry official said.

This came after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Parliament on Wednesday that India on February 18 submitted the names of 11 individuals and one organisation to the UN's Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.

"I can confirm to you that we will be moving the 1267 committee to also include the name of Masood Azhar on the sanctions list," external affairs ministry Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing.

"It is a matter of great anomaly that the organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed is listed but not its leader," he added.

The JeM had claimed responsibility for the January 2 cross-border terror attack on the Pathankot Indian Air Force base that claimed the lives of seven Indian security personnel.

The attack had thrown the proposed foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, originally scheduled in the middle of January, off the rails with New Delhi seeking action from Islamabad against those involved in the attack.

Pakistan has since lodged an FIR without naming any person and said that it would send a special investigation team (SIT) to India to probe the attack.

Asked the names of the 11 individuals India has submitted to the UN, Swarup said that it would not be prudent to do so now as it was part of a process being followed.