Explaining why the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir was not mentioned in the United Nations Security Council’s listing of Masood Azhar as global terrorist, the Centre on Thursday said that the listing is “not a biodata” of all his terrorist acts.

“Azhar was designated not based on one incident but several acts of terrorism. Our objective was to ensure his listing as global terrorist. We do not negotiate with any country on terrorism and on matters related to country’s security. China has already given an explanation on why Pulwama has been omitted from listing,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said while addressing the media.

He, however, said that the Pulwama attack did play a major role in the making of the decision.

The UNSC had on Wednesday said Masood Azhar’s continued association with the Jaish-e-Mohammed was the primary reason why he was designated as a global terrorist.

In a huge diplomatic win for India, the United Nations on Wednesday designated Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.

China lifted technical hold after it found no objection to the listing proposal following a careful study of the “revised materials.”

The UN committee listed Azhar on May 1, 2019 as being associated with Al-Qaeda for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of”, “supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material to”, “recruiting for”, “otherwise supporting acts or activities of”, and “other acts or activities indicating association with” the JeM.

However, there was no mention of the deadly Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which was claimed by the JeM.

Beijing’s decision to lift the technical hold comes just over a week after Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale met China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in China.

Besides India, the US and France too welcomed the UN move to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, saying it “signals the successful realisation” of their efforts.

In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the US, UK and France had moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based terror group JeM’s chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

However, just before the deadline, China put a “technical hold” on the proposal.

In 2009, India moved a proposal to designate Azhar, whose UN-proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama on February 14 in which over 44 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed.

In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 – the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the airbase in Pathankot in January 2016.

In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions, China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, blocked India’s proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.