Beijing's stand on Masood doing material harm to China-India ties: Experts

Agencies
November 7, 2017

Washington, Nov 7: The recent decision by China to block a bid at the United Nations to list Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant group, as a global terrorist, is doing "material harm" to its ties with India, top American experts said today.

Last week, China had blocked a bid at the United Nations by the US, France, and Britain to list Azhar as a global terrorist, citing a lack of consensus among the members of the UN Security Council.

A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked Indias move to designate Azhar a terrorist under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

"I think it's an unfortunate move on China's part and I question the logic of continuing to block sanctions on known Pakistan-based terrorists at the United Nations," Jeff Smith from the Heritage Foundation said.

Smith said that China was "clearly" seeing its action as a favor to its all-weather friend, Pakistan.

"But the policy is increasingly undermining China's own strategic interests and stated foreign policy objectives," he said, noting that in September, China had, for the first time, relented to including specific criticism of JeM and other Pakistani terror outfits in the statement issued at the BRICS summit in Xiamen.

"It grievously undermines an increasingly prominent Chinese narrative about the need to take a tougher line on terrorism broadly, and in Afghanistan specifically," Smith said.

"It's actions are also doing material harm to the health of a China-India relationship already under duress," he said.

The Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations said that the Committee discussions over whether to add an individual or entity to the 1267 sanctions list are confidential to the committee.

"However, we would support efforts to list Azhar, Jaish-e Mohammeds founder and leader, on the 1267 Sanctions List and would encourage others to support his listing as well," a spokesperson for the US mission in New York said.

According to Rick Rossow from Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an American think-tank, China's latest move affirmed Delhi's belief in Sino-Pakistani collusion.

"By supporting this decision, China could have taken an important step to restart its ties with Delhi, yet Beijing chose a different path," Rossow said.

Rossow alleged that China continued to use the international system where it saw fit, "such as this vote", while undermining the international system in other areas, "such as maritime law".

"The timing is significant, coming on the heels of Washingtons stronger rhetoric against Pakistans support for terrorism. Much like the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, this decision was another Chinese lifeline to Islamabad at a precarious time," Rossow said.

Director of Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia at Hudson Institute think tank, Aparna Pande, said she was not surprised by Beijing's decision.

"While China worries about Islamist radicals it is concerned primarily with Uyghurs and on that front it will apply pressure on Pakistan," she noted.

"When it comes to Jihadis that target India, China does not see it as in its interest to force Pakistan. Further, being seen as Pakistans benefactor in the international arena is another benefit for Beijing," Pande said. The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UNs list of banned terror outfits.

Last year in March, China was the only member in the 15- nation UN Security Council to put a hold on Indias application.

The other 14 members supported New Delhis bid to place Azhar on the sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.

Azhar is accused of several terrorist attacks in India, including one on the Pathankot air force station in January 2016.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 24,2025

israelsyra.jpg

Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 27,2025

imrankhan.jpg

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.