By IANS,
Islamabad : The UN Security Council’s decision to ban the Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) as a global terrorist organisation had become possible only because China, which had blocked three similar attempts, finally gave its nod for the UN resolution, a media report Friday said.
Quoting diplomatic analysts, The News said this change apparently came as a result of the pressure created by the Mumbai terror attacks.
The Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council Wednesday approved the addition of four entries – including the JuD and its chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed – to its consolidated list of individuals and entities whose assets are frozen.
“According to well placed foreign office sources, three resolutions seeking a ban on the JuD, tabled before the UN Security Council since 2003, had been simply put on technical hold by Beijing, while using its veto right being one of the five permanent UNSC members,” The News said.
“Each time the Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the Security Council tabled a resolution to include the Jamat-ud-Dawah in the list of terrorist groups, China blocked the move, while seeking credible evidence from the United Nations indicating JuD’s terror links,” the newspaper added.
Technical hold demands the provision of information demanded by a permanent member of the Security Council before processing a resolution to declare someone a terrorist organisation.
“The Chinese authorities reportedly used to intervene in the past on the request of the Musharraf regime. However, it had become hard for Beijing to vote against the move in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks and the evidence furnished by the Indian authorities,” The News noted.
The Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee can impose economic sanctions on the individuals and entities associated with Al Qaeda, its chief Osama bin Laden or with the Taliban wherever located.
The committee, comprising 15 members, also entertains requests made by UN member states on whose territory any terrorist organisation exists. The committee had previously declared the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) a terrorist outfit on May 2, 2005, while acting on a US request.
The UN move was followed by the US State Department’s decision to brand the Jamat-ud- Dawah a terrorist organisation, saying it was a front for the LeT.
India has blamed the LeT for the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed more than 170 lives and for the Dec 13, 2001 attack on the Indian parliament in which nine security personnel, as also the five attackers, were killed.
In December 2001, the State Department had designated the Lashkar-e-Taiba a foreign terrorist organisation following the Indian parliament attack, prompting the Musharraf regime to ban the group and freeze its assets on January 13, 2002.
However, a few weeks before that, Hafiz Saeed announced his stepping down as the LeT chief and launching the Jamat-ud-Dawah.