New Delhi, May 2 : The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Modi government for singularly claiming credit for the designation of Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” by the UN and asked it to give a reply to Pakistan’s claim that Kashmir and Pulwama were de-linked in the JeM chief’s listing.
Condemning Pakistan’s claims that it agreed to Azhar’s listing after all “political references”, including attempts to link him to the Pulwama attack, were removed from the proposal, the Congress said it was a serious matter and a reply must be given to “Pakistan’s mischief”.
In 2009, India first moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar a “global terrorist”. In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 — the United States, the United Kingdom and France — in the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the “mastermind” of the attack on the Pathankot air base in January 2016.
In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, blocked India’s proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
Congress spokesperson Rajeev Shukla hit out at the remarks made by Union minister Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman at a joint press conference, saying such designations were the result of a continuous process and just one government should not take credit for it.
“We humbly request them with folded hands to not take credit for everything. Stop taking credit and applauding yourself. Also, tell the country that you had freed Azhar from a Jammu jail. We had got Hafiz Saeed designated (as a global terrorist after the Mumbai terror attacks),” he said at a press conference.
“It was the Congress that had got Saeed and Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi as well as other terrorists designated as global terrorists,” Shukla said.
“I also condemn Pakistan government’s claim that it is their diplomatic victory. They are saying that we have got Pulwama and Kashmir de-linked from it (the listing) and then this declaration has been made,” he said.
Shukla said that the government should give a reply to “this mischief (claim)” of Pakistan that they have de-linked Kashmir and the Pulwama incident while banning Azhar.
“This is a serious matter. For us, Pulwama is very important as Azhar had a direct role and he had accepted it. Then it would mean that the earlier incidents and the 26/11 (Mumbai terror attacks) was the basis for banning him for which we had submitted all documents.
“So, the government’s ministers should do a press conference on this also,” he said.
Shukla, in his remarks, asserted that “Azhar is a terrorist and all his activities must be banned”.
He said following the Mumbai attacks, it was the UPA government that had made available documents that formed the basis for designations of terrorists subsequently.
“All governments should be given credit,” he said.
