United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has hailed United Nations’ listing of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a “victory for American diplomacy”.
Pompeo congratulated his country’s UN mission on their efforts in the negotiations and said: “the long-awaited action is a victory for American diplomacy … and an important step towards peace in South Asia”.
Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday after a long legal and political battle among the permanent members of the international body.
Since 2008, the US attempted four times to list Masood under the UNSC Resolution 1267, but every time its move was thwarted by China.
China resisted the listing of Masood at the request of Pakistan, which considered the move a political tool to equate the ongoing freedom struggle in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK) with terrorism.
Just hours before the listing of Masood, a senior Pakistani official explained as to why Pakistan and China finally withdrew its opposition.
“In the latest bid, Pakistan was able to convince the UNSC members to delink the listing of Masood from the Kashmir freedom movement. That was a major diplomatic victory,” the official insisted.