Maulana Masood Azhar, head of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit, attends a pro-Taliban conference organised by the Afghan Defence Council in Islamabad August 26, 2001. Photo: Reuters/File

 

NEW DELHI: India is ?disappointed? by China?s decision to again block its request at the United Nations (UN) to blacklist the head of a Pakistan-based militant group, the country?s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

India, backed by the United States, has been trying to get Maulana Masood Azhar on a UN list of groups with ties to al Qaeda, blaming his group for a series of attacks in India, including one on its parliament in 2002 and another last year on an airbase.

But China, a member of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly put a technical hold on the Indian request citing a lack of consensus, a claim India rejects.

?We are deeply disappointed that once again, a single country has blocked international consensus on the designation of an acknowledged terrorist and leader of UN-designated terrorist organisation, Masood Azhar,? India?s foreign ministry said.

China blocks India?s request to UN to blacklist Maulana Azhar

India has accused the JeM leader of masterminding several attacks

China?s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said last month there were clear rules for listing a person or group as a terrorist, and that China has always believed the relevant UN committee should operate on the principles of objectivity.

The wrangling over Masood Azhar, a longtime Indian foe, has become a thorny issue in ties between China and India.

India worries that China will stick by its ?all-weather? friend, India?s arch-foe Pakistan.

?India strongly believes that double standards and selective approaches will only undermine the international community?s resolve to combat terrorism,? India?s foreign ministry said.