Editorial: Beijing does it again

China’s consistent strategy to politicise the fight against global terrorism undermines the sanctity of the UN Security Council

There is now a familiar pattern to how the Beijing-Islamabad nexus is misusing the international forums to protect terrorist elements operating from Pakistani soil. The latest instance happened at the United Nations recently when China blocked a proposal by India and the US to designate Sajid Mir of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba as a global terrorist for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. China’s consistent strategy to politicise the fight against global terrorism not only exposes its duplicity but also amounts to undermining the sanctity of the United Nations Security Council. If Mir was blacklisted under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council as a global terrorist, it would have subjected him to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. He is one of India’s most-wanted terrorists and the US has placed a bounty of $5 million on his head for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Despite Pakistani authorities claiming in the past that Mir had died, Western countries remained sceptical and demanded evidence of his death. This issue caused a significant obstacle in FATF’s (Financial Action Task Force) evaluation of Pakistan’s progress on the action plan towards last year. China’s continued duplicity on the issue of fighting global terrorism comes in the midst of its growing friction with the United States and the unresolved border tensions with India. The justification that Beijing gives for its stance is totally unacceptable. It defends its actions as so-called technical objections based on procedural loopholes.

However, it is an open secret that they are clearly part of a pattern of protecting Pakistan internationally. Mir is the fifth Pakistan-based terror accused to have been prevented by Beijing from being blacklisted as a global terrorist in the past few months. Interestingly, a Pakistan court jailed Mir in June last year for over 15 years in a terror-financing case as the country made efforts to exit the FATF grey list. China’s continued obstructionist approach at the UN will only result in emboldening the terrorist elements operating from Pakistani soil. There is a growing realisation among the international community that terrorism is a global menace that demands joint international response and coordination. It cannot be tackled in isolation, nor can it be condemned selectively. Nations which infamously pursue the ‘good terrorist, bad terrorist’ line of policy are bound to swallow their own bitter medicine. It is clear from its track record that Beijing has been misusing its position in the UNSC and abdicating its international responsibility in fighting terrorism. Protecting notorious terrorists from the UN sanctions and other relevant measures has already undermined China’s credibility. Such an approach will only add to the growing list of issues causing discord between India and China. Apart from this, China has been blocking India’s claim over permanent membership in a reformed UNSC.

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