It is a time of great pride in India's diplomacy, said Former Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla on Monday as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) designated Abdul Rehman Makki, the brother-in-law of 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, as a global terrorist under its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
"It's a time of great pride in our diplomacy and we have achieved what has been the endeavour of our leadership which is to book those who have been complicit and involved in acts of terrorism," Shringla told ANI.
Shringla added that it is time to make sure that wanted terrorists are made accountable for their actions and diplomatic outreach through UN and bilateral channels can help with that.
"We should use our diplomatic outreach through UN and bilateral channels to make sure these terrorists are made accountable for their actions. We've been very firm in going after perpetrators of terrorism and their safe havens," Shringla said.
This listing is seen as a major win for New Delhi after China in June 2022 blocked a joint proposal by India and the US to get the UNSC to list Makki as a global terrorist. Beijing put a last-minute 'technical hold' on the joint proposal to put Makki on the UNSC's 1267 list of terrorists linked to al Qaeda and ISIL.
The move by Beijing was condemned by India as 'extremely unfortunate'.
"On 16 January 2023, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da'esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities approved the addition of the entry specified below to its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2610 (2021) and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations," the UN said in a statement on Monday.
Resolution 1267 provides for sanctions against individuals and entities that support or finance the acts or activities of ISIL, Al-Qaida, associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities.
Makki is the deputy leader of LeT, an organisation that was later renamed the Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD). Just like LeT, the JuD is also a UN-designated terror group.
Also known as Abdulrahman Maki, he served as the head of 'foreign relations' department of the LeT and a member of its governing body or Shura and contributed to raising money for the LeT operations.
In India, Makki is on the UAPA list of designated terrorists and is wanted for his involvement in the attack on Delhi's iconic Red Fort in 2000, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and the attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
The US has also placed Makki on its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists while announcing a USD 2 million reward for information that would convict him.
Pakistan has made limited progress on the key aspects of its 2015 National Action Plan, specifically its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organisations without delay or discrimination, said the US State Department in its 2020 Country Reports on Terrorism.
( With inputs from ANI )
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