The country’s foreign ministry said its actions do not amount to protecting violent Islamic groups from sanctions – an allegation levelled by the United States. The draft resolution calls for a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo on Azhar. Geng on Thursday had accused the US of bypassing the 1267 Committee by putting forward its draft resolution directly to the Security Council. “It [US] has undermined the authority of the 1267 Committee as a main counter-terrorism agency at the Security Council and is not conducive to upholding the unity of the Security Council,” he said. Till date, China has four times blocked attempts to designate Azhar, whose outfit had claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14, a global terrorist.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 29, 2019 15:22 UTC