In a fresh proposal, the United States of America, United Kingdom and France on Wednesday, 27 February, asked the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar.
This is the third attempt to put Azhar on the UN terror blacklist which will subject him to a global travel ban and asset freeze.
The move to list Azhar on the terror blacklist has been blocked by China twice and diplomats argue that China is expected to raise objections again, reported AFP.
Click here for live updates on the Indo-Pak tensions.
The council now has 10 days to consider the request from the three nations.
Escalation of Tension Between India, Pakistan
The bid to block Azhar comes after the Pakistan-based terror group JeM claimed the responsibility for the 14 February Pulwama attack which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans. Days after the attack, India retaliated and carried out air strikes in Balakot, Pakistan.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that India struck the JeM camps in Pakistan and eliminated large number of JeM terrorists. As tension between the two countries escalated, Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that they shot down two of India’s fighter jets and have taken one pilot in custody.
In a statement, India confirmed that the “missing Indian Air Force(IAF) pilot” was under Pakistan custody and that the government expected his immediate and safe return.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)