China extends hold on Indian bid to ban JeM chief at UN

China on Saturday announced the extension of its technical hold on India’s bid to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN.

The move comes two days before China's hold was set to expire and will hold for up to three months more. "The technical hold on India’s listing application submitted to the 1267 committee in March, 2016 has already been extended," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told the Press Trust of India. He further said the extended technical hold will allow more time for the committee to deliberate on the matter.

Earlier on March 31, China had blocked India’s move to put a ban on the JeM leader and alleged Pathankot attack mastermind under the Sanctions Committee of the Council.

China was the sole member in the 15-nation UN organ to put a hold on India’s application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi’s bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.

"China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the main principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council,"  the foreign ministry spokesperson said in response to a question.

India has raised the issue of China blocking Azhar’s designation as a terrorist at various levels and has also taken up the matter with Chinese leadership at different international fora.

This article originally appeared on Times of India.