Beijing blocks UN SC from adding Pakistani involved in Mumbai attack on terror list

China refused to include Sajid Mir on the global terror list. The Pakistani is wanted in connection with multiple attacks that killed 166 people in 2008. Had HIS name been added, he would have been subjected to an asset freeze and a travel ban. This comes as Indian PM Modi starts a state visit to the United States. For an Indian minister, geopolitical interests are undermining the fight against terrorism.

New York (AsiaNews/Agencies) – As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes a state visit to the United States, China has blocked a proposal before the United Nations Security Council to include on the global list of terrorists, Sajid Mir, a Pakistani national wanted for his involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 26 November 2008, which left 166 people dead and over 300 wounded.

India and the United States had submitted a proposal to that effect to the UNSC’s 1267 al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. By being designated a global terrorist, Mir would have had his assets frozen, and would have been subjected to a travel ban and arms embargo. Last September China put a technical hold on the proposal.

In June 2022, a Pakistani court sentenced Sajid Mir to more than 15 years in prison for his involvement in a terrorist financing case. The verdict came just as Pakistan was seeking to be removed from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental watchdog set up develop policies to combat money laundering.

For Indian authorities, Mir masterminded of the 2008 massacres. At a UN counterterrorism summit hosted in Mumbai last year, an audiotape was played in which the Pakistani can be heard  directing the attack on Chabad House, a Jewish centre targeted along with big hotels.

India was none too pleased by China’s move. “If we cannot get established terrorists who have been proscribed across global landscapes listed under security council architecture for pure geopolitical interest, then we do not really have the genuine political will needed to sincerely fight this challenge of terrorism,” said Prakash Gupta, UNP[*] division joint secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), speaking at the United Nations.

[*] United Nations Political.