United Nations, Aug 3 (PTI): China has again extended by three months its technical hold on the US, France and UK- backed proposal to list JeM chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist by the UN.
China had in February this year blocked the US move to designate Azhar as a global terrorist at UN. The deadline for China to take action on its technical hold was till August 2.
If China would not have extended the technical hold, Azhar would have automatically been designated under the UN as a terrorist. Sources told PTI here that just before the deadline lapsed, China once again sought a three-month extension until November 2 on its technical hold on the proposal.
A Veto-wielding Permanent Member of the Security Council, Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's move to put a ban on the Jaish-e-Mohammed leader under the AlQaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council.
Last year in March, China was the sole member in the 15- nation UN organ to put a hold on India's application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.
The six-month validity of that technical hold lapsed in September and Beijing then extended it by three more months.
In December last year, after China blocked India's proposal to list the JeM chief, Indian diplomatic sources here had said that the pursuit of terrorism was not a "one-shot affair" for India and that it will continue to pursue issues of terrorism "through all available mechanisms".
Sources had said that the block would not prevent India from pursuing at the world body issues of terrorism and sanctioning of leaders of terror outfits.
Chinese military newspaper asks Indian troops to withdraw:
Meanwhile, according to a report from Beijing, the flagship newspaper of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Thursday demanded the immediate withdrawal of Indian troops from Doklam on the border, warning New Delhi not to harbour any illusions about Beijing's resolve to defend its territory.
"The Chinese government will make no concession on territorial sovereignty, and any country should not underestimate our resolve to uphold territorial sovereignty," said a commentary in the PLA Daily, reports Xinhua news agency.
Over 270 Indian troops crossed the Sikkim section of the China-India border and obstructed Chinese road work in Doklam on June 18. As of the end of July, over 40 Indian soldiers and one bulldozer remain in Chinese territory, it said.
Chinese troops have taken initial counter measures at the area and will step up targeted measures, the commentary said.
"The Chinese military does not demand a single inch of other's land and it won't give an inch of its own territory to others," it said. "We have no intention of aggression or expansion. However, we have confidence in defeating all aggression."
The commentary urged India to acquire a clear understanding of the general trend of the world and contribute more to regional and world peace and development, instead of acting in reverse.
