India’s persistent diplomacy appears to have paid off, with Pakistan-based proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki finally being listed as a ‘global terrorist’ by the United Nations.
Makki, 68, is LeT chief Hafiz Saeed’s brother-in-law and is wanted in several Indian terror cases. The UN Security Council’s 1267 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee designated Makki as a global terrorist on Monday on a joint India-US proposal pending to blacklist the Pakistan-based terrorist. Now his assets would be frozen, and an embargo imposed on travel and purchase of arms.
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According to international reports, India was able to achieve the feat seven months after China, an ally of Pakistan, withdrew its objection on June 16, 2022. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin in Beijing came up with a vague answer when justification was sought over its move to lift the hold. The spokesperson stated that listing terrorists is conducive to enhancing global counterterrorism cooperation. “Terrorism is the common enemy of humanity,” Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi welcomed the UN decision to blacklist Makki. Threats from terrorist organisations in the region remain high and listings and sanctions by the UNSC, are an effective tool to curb such threats and dismantle terror infrastructure in the region, spokesperson Bachi told reporters here.
He stated that “India remains committed to pursuing a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and will continue to press the international community to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorism.”
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