The designation of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the United Nations is being viewed as a major diplomatic victory for India. For a few years now, India had been trying to get Azhar designated as a global terrorist under 1267 UN Sanctions Committee. The move was so far relentlessly quashed by China, which, for its own vested interests in the region — particularly to barter security of the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative’s flagship project — sought to put a ‘technical hold’ on the matter.
How did India manage to ensure such a development? What were the factors that led to China changing its stand?
What were the contours of the discussions that might have preceded between different parties prior to this development?
What does this development mean for India-China and Pakistan-China bilateral relations?
What are the security implications for the controversial CPEC?
What does this development mean for India and the world, particularly South Asia, in term of security implications?
What is the way forward?
Gautam Bambawale, Ambassador (Retd), was a member of the Indian Foreign Service from 1984 to 2018. He was India’s Ambassador to Bhutan, Pakistan and China.
Prabha Rao is former Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. She is an expert on radicalisation and different ideologies and is also a keen watcher of terrorism in the Af-Pak region.
Tilak Devasher is the author of two acclaimed books on Pakistan. The first titled, Pakistan: Courting the Abyss, was published in December 2016. His second book, Pakistan: At the Helm, was published in July 2018.
The timing of this event is from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
