China Blocks UNSC Listing of LeT’s Sajid Mir as a Global Terrorist

New Delhi: China on Tuesday blocked a proposal to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council. Mir is wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people and injured over 300.

China’s action took place just as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his three-day state visit to the United States.

The proposal was submitted by India and the United States to the UNSC’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee. If Mir had been designated as a global terrorist, he would have been subject to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. Last September, Beijing had put a technical hold on the proposal.

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced him to more than 15 years in jail in June 2022 for his involvement in a terror-financing case. This judgement came when Pakistan was  striving to be removed from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In August 2012, the US Department of the Treasury labeled Mir as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Consequently, all assets and interests within US jurisdiction associated with Mir were frozen, and US individuals were generally forbidden from engaging in any transactions with him.

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