China on Wednesday openly defended its decision to impose a technical hold on the US' proposal to blacklist Pakistani leader Masood Azhar at the United Nations (UN). This is the fourth time that China has imposed a technical hold on blacklisting Azhar at the UN, much to the dismay of India, which backed the three proposals.       

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Replying to questions on China's technical hold, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said: "I would say the conditions are not yet met for the 1,267 Committee to reach a decision." He argued that the technical hold would allow the relevant parties more time to consult with each other.

Lu also downplayed the US role in pushing the resolution for banning Masood Azhar, adding that "whoever submitted the request we believe all the members of the committee will act in line with regulations of the Security Council and its affiliations."    

This was the first time that the US has proposed a resolution at the UN to blacklist Azhar.

The US reportedly tabled the resolution on Jan. 19, exactly a day before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45^th president of United States of America. Britain and France are two other countries that supported the resolution.

China's latest technical hold will be seen as a belligerent challenge to the Trump administration, which has publicly taken an anti-Chinese stance on several critical issues. In fact, President Trump has been vociferously criticized China since his election campaign.

The US government is yet to respond to Beijing's latest technical hold on Azhar, while India's Foreign Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said that New Delhi has taken up the issue with the Chinese government.

Azhar's organization Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) has since been banned by the UN. The ban was imposed after India piled pressure on the international community, alleging that JEM was responsible for several heinous attacks including an attack on its parliament in 2001.         

However, Azhar has been spared from the UN ban, thanks to the efforts of the Chinese government to shield him at the behest of its close ally Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan has refuted New Delhi's accusation that Azhar is a "terrorist," claiming that he is a social activist and enjoys popularity across the country.            

Tagschina, Masood Azhar., China and US, China and India