Sanctioning Jaish chief: UK blinks,China lone dissenter

As first reported by The Indian Express,UK and China were the only two to have moved a hold on the Indian move. London,for its part,has been facing difficulties even domestically where certain quarters have questioned the legality of the UN Resolution 1267 or better known as the Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Act. However,the Resolution is binding on all member states and empowers India to demand action from Pakistan once an individual or entity is named in the list.

The other names in the current proposal are Azam Cheema and Abdul Rehman Makki of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. The former is accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts for assisting in the planning of the attack. He is said to be a lecturer in Islamic Studies at Zaranwala College outside Bahawalpur. Makki,on the other hand,is a key LeT ideologue.

Azhar too based himself in Bahawalpur after his release in exchange of passengers of the IC-814. His following grew fast in the past decade as he floated the Jaish-e-Mohammed. Of late,he has been keeping a low profile after India stepped up the heat on Pakistan following the Mumbai attacks. He even moved to the North-West Frontier Province but conflicting reports have surfaced that he has returned to Bahawalpur.

UK had officially conveyed that it wanted more information on Indias proposal and put the matter on hold. This surprised India because Azhar had been active as an ideologue in UK before returning to PoK and his subsequent capture by Indian forces. Sources said Chinas resistance was expected given its close understanding with Pakistan,but UKs actions were unexpected.

But with London now removing its hold,the only country in the way is Beijing. China had placed a similar hold on the banning of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its head Hafiz Mohammed Saeed along with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi last year even after the US placed the outfit and the individuals under its own sanctions list. Beijings argument was that it could not be conclusively proven that JuD was a front organisation of the Lashkar-e-Toiba that had already been banned. But under immense US pressure after the Mumbai attacks,China removed the hold which led to banning of the outfit. India hopes that China will not come in way of the consensus given that all other members of the UN Security Council are backing the Indian move.