The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said that India has shared all evidences of terrorist activities of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and its chief Maulana Masood Azhar with China regarding the terrorist leader’s 1267 listing.

“It’s now for the 1267 Sanctions Committee and other authorised bodies of UN to take a decision on listing of Masood Azhar,” the MEA was quoted as saying by ANI.

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“India will continue to pursue all avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice,” the MEA said.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, who is currently in China on a two-day visit, met Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday and told him that Beijing needed to be “sensitive” to New Delhi’s concerns.

Reports say that India made attempts to convince China not to block a resolution to declare Azhar an international terrorist at the UN 1267 sanctions committee.

China in the past has repeatedly blocked all such resolutions by India, the US, Britain and France by placing a “technical hold”.

Azhar, who was released by India in 1999 in the hostage crisis involving the Indian Airlines IC-814 hijack, formed JeM in 2000. Ever since, his group carried out a series of attacks on India including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot terror attack and the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

In spite of India’s repeated requests, Beijing, which views Islamabad as an “all-weather ally”, placed its latest “technical hold” on the US-sponsored resolution against Azhar.

A frustrated US slammed Beijing’s move.

Beijing is facing mounting international pressure to declare Azhar an international terrorist.

Gokhale, who was also India’s former Ambassador to China, said both sides were working to implement what was agreed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Wuhan summit last year.

Wang stressed the need for India and China to step up strategic communication and cooperation.

Gokhale’s visit also comes in the same week as Beijing holds the second edition of the Belt and Road forum, which New Delhi is highly likely to skip over the issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It is to be seen if India’s opposition to the Belt and Road forum will figure in the talks. Heads of 37 countries and over 100 international organisations will be attending the forum.

India opposes the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the key artery in the Belt and Road, as it cuts through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In 2017, India had boycotted the launch of the forum over the same issue.

In a press conference on 20 April, Wang appealed to India again to shed its inhibition on the CPEC, saying the project has nothing to do with the Kashmir issue.

(With IANS inputs.)