‘United Nations Security Council Has Preserved Its Credibility’

BY ARUL LOUIS

The United Nations Security Council’s terrorism sanctions committee has preserved its credibility by finally declaring Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar an international terrorist, according to Dian Triansyah Djani, the Indonesian diplomat who chairs the panel. “I think it is really time for us to work together, all countries regardless of whether it is in the Security Council or in other fora” against terrorism, he told reporters here on Wednesday. “We have been able to preserve the sanctity and credibility of the committee” by listing Azhar as terrorist subject to sanctions, he said.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the Committee’s attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on adding him to the terrorists list and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel. Earlier, India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin thanked Djani in a statement for seeing the decision through. He “was instrumental in ensuring that the process went smoothly and in accordance with our agreed understandings”, Akbaruddin said.

Djani said: “A consensus decison has been attempted where everybody has participated and once again as chair we have done our job in trying to facilitate consensus.” “I am just doing my function as the chair, trying to facilitate, to bring all parties together,” he added. “I think it is not only the function of the chair but all members of the Committee that has been working very hard” to reach a consensus. The 1267 committee deals with sanctions against al-Qaeda, Islamic State and their affiliated groups and individuals, and listed Azhar as a terrorist; the 1373 committee on counter terrorism; and the 1540 committee that oversees domestic controls to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. (IANS)

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