'Petty geopolitics': India slams China's move on Pakistan-based terrorist
India on Wednesday condemned China's move to block a proposal at the United Nations (UN) to declare Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir a "global terrorist." In a sharp dig at China, Prakash Gupta, joint secretary (UN Political and Summits) at the Ministry of External Affairs, said something was genuinely wrong with the global counter-terrorism architecture.
Why does this story matter?
China on Tuesday voted against the proposal—presented by both India and the United States (US)—for designating Mir a "global terrorist." Mir is wanted in India for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The proposal would have blocked Mir's financial assets and ordered a ban on travel and arms. Reportedly, China paused the same proposal in September last year.
Justice continues to elude victims: India
Criticizing China for its "petty geopolitics," Gupta said, "If we cannot get established terrorists who have been banned across global landscapes...then we really do not have the genuine political will to sincerely fight this challenge of terrorism." India also noted that while the UN Security Council visited the site of attacks in Mumbai in October last year, justice continued to elude the victims.
Watch: India's statement at UN
There's no good terrorist versus bad terrorist: India
In order to tackle terrorism, Gupta suggested "avoiding double standards" and "self-defeating justification of 'good terrorist versus bad terrorist." "A terror act is a terror act—period—(and) any justification being used should not be countenanced by anybody," he said. Notably, this came on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the US for his first official state visit.
US placed $5 million bounty on Mir
Following China's decision, John Kirby, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, stated, "Our belief in that designation speaks for itself." To note, the US placed a $5 million bounty on Mir for his role in the Mumbai attacks. Last year, he was jailed for over 15 years in a terror-financing case by a Pakistani court. Pakistan earlier claimed that he was dead.
