Of Pakistan and China

It is a matter very heartening that all top countries and leaders of the civilized world have condemned with the strongest of words the dastardly terror attack on a CRPF convoy at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir that left at least 49 jawans dead. A list compiled by the Ministry of Extrernal Affairs on Saturday said as many as 50 counties had already sent written statements condemning the Pulwama attack and directly or indirectly holding Pakistan responsible for the worst-ever terror attack anywhere in the world in the recent few months. The US’ condemnation has remained by far the strongest, calling Pakistan to end support for all terrorist groups operating from its soil. India has the right to self-defense against cross-border terrorism, the US has said. On Saturday, John Bolton, US National Security Advisor had two lengthy telephonic conversations with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, discussing at length the implications of the incident and Pakistan’s complicity in it. Washington has also conveyed strong support to Delhi in its counter-terror and counter proxy war strategy.

France, on the other hand, clearly named the Jaish-e-Mohammad as the culprit responsible for the incident. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a statement denouncing the attack, said all countries should work jointly to combat terrorists and their funding channels and “to prevent the cross-border movement of terrorist groups such as JeM”. Likewise, Russian President Vladimir Putin, while condemning the attack, called for the maximum possible punishment for the sponsors of the attack. Putin, in a message sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, “The perpetrators and sponsors of this attack should be duly punished.” Joining other world leaders in condemning the Pulwama and standing beside India in this hour of grief, Canada’s foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said her country stood in solidarity with India “in the fight to prevent radicalization and defeat terrorism”. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and the foreign ministry of Nepal too denounced the attack. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for those behind the assault to be brought to justice.

Likewise, China too has strongly condemned the attack but skirted the issue of listing Azhar by UN’s 1267 Committee. “...We firmly oppose and strongly condemn all forms of terrorism...” Remaining non-committal on extending support to India’s demand for sanction against JJaish-e-Mohammad’s Pakistan-based chief Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang only repeated what Beijing has repeatedly said about UN protocols. Without directly referring to India’s persistent demand to declare Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, the foreign ministry spokesperson said JeM has already been included in the sanctions list of the UN committee but he was not forthcoming as to why China is opposed to extend the ban on the leader of the group. This has only further confirmed India’s strong suspicion that Jaish-e-Mohammad is a group that reportedly enjoys China’s protection at the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee.

This Masood Azhar is the same dreaded terrorist who was arrested in India in Fbruary 1994 after he had secretly travelled to Srinagar to help a patch-up between Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the two factions of Harkat-ul-Ansar. The 1968-born terrorist was imprisoned for his terrorist activities, but had to be released by India in 1999 along with two other terrorists in exchange for the passengers of an Indian airliner hijacked by the Pakistan-backed operatives from Kathmandu to Kandahar. He had remained low for a few years to launch Jaish-e-Mohammed, and began a fresh string of deadly attacks against India. These included the December 2001 attack on Parliament House, an incident that had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a full-scale war. Since then, Azhar’s group has been blamed for some of the most brazen and devastating terrorist assaults in India, including the September 2016 attack on an Indian Army facility at Uri that killed 19 and Thursday’s attack on a security convoy in Pulwama.

It is very important to keep in mind that China has been playing a crucial role in protecting Masood Azhar and all other Pakistan-sponsored terror groups. A veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and a close ally of Pakistan, China has been consistently blocking moves first by India and later by the US, the UK and France to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by the 1267 Committee by putting technical holds. Once listed as terrorist by the UN Security Council, Azhar would face a global travel ban and assets freeze. China and Pakistan have been ‘all-weather friends’, especially in relation to India, and Beijing often views New Delhi not just as a competitor, but also as a threat. Supporting Azhar could be a way to needle India and appease Pakistan. Moreover, China and Pakistan also share a quid pro quo relationship, representing each other in official groups of nations where the other has a scarce representation. For instance, Pakistan stands up for China in Non-Aligned Movement (where Beijing has a scanty representation) and in return, Pakistan gets China’s veto power in the UNSC. Yet another reason behind China not supporting whole-heartedly India’s war against terrorism is that China continues to hold a grudge against India for giving asylum to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 1959, nine years after China occupied Tibet in 1950. As one foreign affairs commentator had recently said, for China, the Dalai Lama is sort of the equivalent of Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist group leader Hafeez Saeed for India.

Meanwhile, a section of political activists in India have started targeting Muslims in the backdrop of Thursday’s terror attack at Pulwama. It has been seen that the suicide bomber’s video incites Muslims to rise up against Hindus. It is clear that the ISI of Pakistan is trying to create communal divides in India. A section of ultra-pro-Hindiu groups have already launched a hate campaign against the Muslim community. By doing so, however, these people are only proving that they are not patriots who are overflowing with love for India, but a bunch of idiots playing into Pakistan’s game.