India may have lost the battle to China on Masood Azhar, but it is determined to win the war. Refusing to give up, India has dug its toes in on getting Masood Azhar listed as a terrorist in the United Nations security council. India is reaching out to other members to side-step China’s blocking the motion.
“We are examining all options and consulting with other co-sponsors,’’ said sources in the ministry of external affairs. China, however, has maintained that the technical hold-out is to give the committee and relevant parties time to “consult with each other on the relevant issue’’, spokesperson for Chinese foreign ministry Geng Shuang was quoted as saying.
India, for its part, has its task cut out. While no time-frame has been set to revive the resolution, India is determined not to let the issue die out. Reaching out to Russia, UK, France and US, it is attempting to build further pressure on China. Already, China is the lone hold-out with 14 out of the 15 members choosing to brand Azhar as a terrorist. India will also be working with other members of the security council—Italy, Bolvia, Egypt, Japan, Kazakhstan among others. India is also hoping to convince China to drop its opposition against the move. The relationship between the two countries may have become a little more fractious over the past few months—even more so now with the two sparring over Dalai Lama—but India is still hoping to bring China around to its point of view.
