New Delhi: A day after China agreed to the listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Moham-med chief Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” by the UN Security Council sanctions committee, the Indian government on Thursday made it clear that it had not entered into any kind of “deal” or “offer” with any country on the Masood Azhar issue.
The external affairs ministry said, “India does not negotiate with any country on the issue of terrorism and matters relating to the security of the country”.
On criticism from certain quarters on why mention of the Pulwama terror attack was not included in the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee resolution naming Azhar a global terrorist, the ministry said the “designation is not based on a specific incident but on the basis of the evidence shared with the members of the 1267 Sanctions Committee linking Masood Azhar to terrorism”, and that it “broadly covers all terror activities he has been involved in”, including the Pulwama attack.
India also said Pakistan had suffered a “huge diplomatic setback” with the listing of Azhar.
“They (Pakistan) can’t welcome or criticise the decision. They are trying to pick holes (in the case) that don’t exist,” the MEA spokesperson said.
The MEA noted that the “notification is not supposed to be a biodata of the terrorist, and include all acts of terrorism perpetrated by him”.
