Close coordination between India, China on banning Masood Azhar: Swarup

Panaji (Goa) [India], Oct. 15 (ANI): Fielding questions on China's response to India's effort to get terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar proscribed by the United Nation, during the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman Vikas Swarup on Saturday said Chinese are very well aware of India's concerns and India knows of the need for it to ensure that globally notified terrorists are designated by the UN through the designated mechanism. "India and China have maintained continuous dialogue on the issue of terrorism. Ambassador (Vijay Gokhale) will be there to witness to the fact that at multiple levels this has been raised, including at the highest possible level. And, I think, Chinese are very well aware of our concerns and we know of the need for us to ensure that globally notified terrorists are designated by the United Nations through the designated mechanism. And there is close coordination between India and China on this issue and that particular dialogue will continue," said Swarup, while briefing journalists after the bilateral dialogue between India and China. Noting that China clearly acknowledges the issue of terrorism and the danger that it poses, Swarup said, "In fact, the Presidency clearly said China opposes all forms of terrorism and all manifestations of terrorism. This is an issue, on which he (Xi) said there must be increased coordination and cooperation with India." "The counterterrorism dialogue has taken place, and when the NSA (National Security Advisor Ajit Doval) meets Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi, I expect, this issue will be taken up further. So, we are maintaining a continuous dialogue with China and our expectation and hope is that China will see the logic of what we are saying," he added. Adding to Swarup, India Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale said, "On counter terrorism both leaders essentially agreed that it was a scourge for the reason as a whole, not just for the two countries and both alluded to the first high level dialogue on the counterterrorism, which has been held after the Hangzhou Summit and there was a general agreement that this dialogue will continue and we will try to enhance cooperation in counterterrorism for the benefit of the Asian region as a whole. In that sense, I think, this is a positive step by both sides." Earlier, India had criticised the use of hidden veto by China to block its bid at the U.N. to ban Masood Azhar. India's Permanent Representative to the U.N. Syed Akbaruddin told the U.N. Security Council here that general members are never informed about the reason for not acceding to requests for sanctioning terrorists. Akbaruddin said this in an open debate on 'Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts', adding that the procedures of unanimity and anonymity of the Al Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State Sanctions Committees need to be revisited. "Counter terror mechanisms such as the Sanctions Committees that act on behalf of the international community need to build trust not engender impunity by the use of this form of a hidden veto," said Akbaruddin. After the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January, India had in February written to the U.N. calling for immediate action to list Masood Azhar under the U.N. Sanctions Committee. All were told that if there are no objections, the designation will be announced after the expiry of the deadline, but just hours before the deadline, China requested the U.N. committee to keep on hold the designation. China had said any listing would have to meet the requirements, stressing that it was the Council members' responsibility to ensure that the criteria were followed. (ANI)