India Hails UNSC Panel's Move to Reject 2 More Names Proposed by Pakistan For 'Terror List'

The United Nations Security Council’s 1267 sanctions sub-committee on Wednesday rejected Islamabad’s attempts to list 2 Indians as designated terrorists.

The Council, led by France, United Kingdom and the United States blocked the designations of Angara Appaji and Gobinda Patnaik on Wednesday, who were part of a group of four Indians that Pakistan alleged were invovled in an Afghanistan-based “Indian terror syndicate” that were engaged in rousing banned terror groups Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-Ul-Ahrar (JuA) of Pakistan. These groups, Islamabad alleged, were planning to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

India’s UN envoy TS Tirumurti hailed the UNSC decision. “Pakistan’s blatant attempt to politicize 1267 special procedure on terrorism by giving it a religious colour has been thwarted by UN Security Council. We thank all Council members who’ve blocked Pakistan’s designs,” he tweeted.

Out of the four names listed, the Committee had earlier rejected two names-Venumadhav Dongara on June 19, and Ajoy Mistry had been blocked by US, UK, France, Germany and Belgium on July 16.

While placing a hold on the names of Appaji and Patnaik, the panel had asked Pakistan to provide concerete evidence of their involvement in terror activities, failing which the committee then took a decision to reject all the names. Sources said although all the 5 nations putting the hold blocked the move, the primary move was made by US, UK and France.

Pakistan had last week said that at an Open Debate of the Security Council on the Report of the Secretary-General on terrorism, it had accused India of indulging in ‘four types of terrorism’. However, the UNSC President had refused to entertain the letter, since Pakistan is not a member of the UNSC.

In an application to the UNSC in 2019, Pakistan had named the four Indian nationals and accused them of indluging in terroist activities at India’s behest and had accused India of being a “state-sponsor of terrorism”.

Pakistani Foreign Office had said it was “disappointed” after UNSC had rejected the first name on the list, that of Venumadhav Dongara.

“These individuals were financing, sponsoring and organising terrorism inside Pakistan by providing financial, technical and material support to terrorist groups including TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and others,” the Pakistani Foreign Office had said in June, that India had denied.