With constant pressure from India, China removes hold on listing of Pak-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki; gets listed as global terrorist

New Delhi, Jan 17: After seven months, China finally removed its hold on listing of Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki at UNSC. It has now listed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist under its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.

This listing comes after China last year put on India-US's bid to name the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader a global terrorist. India and the US in June, 2022 proposed to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the UN Security Council's Al-Qaeda and ISIL Sanctions Committee, also known as the UNSC 1267 Committee.

As reported earlier, the India-US proposal to list Makki under the UN Security Council sanctions regime was circulated to all members of the Council's 1267 Committee under a no-objection procedure till June 16, 2022. However, China placed a "technical hold" on the proposal to list Makki.

"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.

Both India and the US have already listed Makki as a terrorist under their domestic laws. He has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalizing youth to violence, and planning attacks in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.

It is pertinent to mention that Makki is the brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed. He has occupied various leadership roles within LeT, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). He has also played a role in raising funds for LeT operations.

In 2020, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court convicted Makki on one count of terrorism financing and sentenced him to prison, according to the US State Department. In the past, China has placed hurdles for the listing of known terrorists, particularly from Pakistan. It had repeatedly blocked proposals to designate Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of the Pakistan-based and UN-proscribed terrorist entity, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).