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Pathankot Attack: India Wants JeM Chief Masood Azhar In UN Security Council's Sanctions List

India Wants JeM Chief Masood Azhar In UN Security Council's Sanctions List
Indian activists carry placards of the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad, Maulana Masood Azhar during a protest against the attack on the air force base in Pathankot, in Mumbai on January 4, 2016. Indian troops backed by helicopters searched an air force base January 4, after a weekend of fierce fighting with suspected Islamic insurgents in which seven soldiers and at least four attackers were killed. AFP PHOTO/ Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE (Photo credit should read INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images)
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE via Getty Images
Indian activists carry placards of the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad, Maulana Masood Azhar during a protest against the attack on the air force base in Pathankot, in Mumbai on January 4, 2016. Indian troops backed by helicopters searched an air force base January 4, after a weekend of fierce fighting with suspected Islamic insurgents in which seven soldiers and at least four attackers were killed. AFP PHOTO/ Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE (Photo credit should read INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images)

UNITED NATIONS -- India today formally approached the UN to include Jaish-e-Mohammad chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar in the UN Security Council's sanctions list strongly emphasising the urgency to take action against the terror group's leader.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin wrote to New Zealand Ambassador Gerard Jacoubus van Bohemen, the Chair of the 1267 al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, submitting India's request that the JeM chief's name be included in the committee's sanctions list.

Armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the January 2 Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian soldiers, India told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar has clearly demonstrated how it and other countries in South Asia continue to face threats posed by the terror group and its leader.

Calling for immediate action to be taken to list Azhar under the al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, India said it is the responsibility of the committee to protect UN nations and its citizens from terror groups like the JeM and its leaders.

Listing Azhar will prove that the global community is committed to tackling the scourge of terrorism and will help protect Indian citizens and those of other countries from the terror threats posed by him and his outfit, India said.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said in New Delhi that it is a "great anomaly" that the organisation JeM is listed but its leader is not.

India also noted that following the Pathankot attack, Pakistan had taken action against several individuals belonging to the Jaish.

The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India's efforts to ban Azhar after the Mumbai terror attack did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn't allow the ban apparently on the behest of Pakistan.

On February 18, a fresh submission of 11 individuals and one organisation linked to terrorism in India, was submitted by New Delhi to the sanctions committee.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.