China has blocked a proposal before the United Nations Security Council to include a Pakistani national wanted for his involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Sajid Mir is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people and injured more than 300 individuals.
India and the United States jointly submitted a proposal to the Council’s 1267 al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee to designate Mir as a global terrorist.
The terrorist designation would allow authorities to freeze Mir’s assets and issue a travel ban against him. However, China placed a technical hold on the proposal last September.
In June 2022, a Pakistani court sentenced Sajid Mir to more than 15 years in prison for his involvement in a terrorist financing case.
The verdict came at a time when Pakistan was seeking removal from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental watchdog established to combat money laundering.
Indian authorities believe that Mir orchestrated the 2008 massacres.
During a counterterrorism summit last year, an audiotape was played in which Mir can be heard directing the attack on Chabad House, a Jewish center that was targeted along with major hotels.
Prakash Gupta, of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said, “If we cannot get established terrorists who have been internationally proscribed listed under the Security Council framework due to pure geopolitical interests, then we lack the genuine political will required to sincerely combat the challenge of terrorism.” – with reports from AsiaNews
