Pakistan foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry on Tuesday accused India of trying to defame Pakistan in international fora by persisting with the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee. The issue of Masood Azhar, being a big part of India’s current diplomatic engagements, featured prominently in his discus sions with foreign secretary S Jaishankar.Pakistan’s response appears to suggest there will be little `give’ from Islamabad on the listing of Azhar. China has placed a “technical hold“ on Azhar’s designation. After India protested, China asked India to “consult“ Pakistan on the is sue.This was reiterated to TOI by Chinese officials in Delhi.The Azhar issue has been flagged by foreign minister Sushma Swaraj with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, and NSA Ajit Doval with his counterpart Yang Jiechi.In Beijing, the Chinese government clarified that status quo would prevail on the Azhar listing unless Pakistan allowed it.The foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying that the Azhar block is “in line with Security Council resolutions and the 1267 committee’s rules of procedure for China to place a technical hold on the listing … the committee encourages communication between countries that ask for the listing and countries where individuals or entitities covered in the listing come from or live in. We encourage all parties related to the listing of Masood Azhar to have direct communication and work out a solution through serious consultation.“

Both sides must have direct talks on Jaish chief: China

India and Pakistan should resolve the issue over Masood Azhar through “direct“ and “serious consultations“, China on Tuesday said, weeks after blocking India’s bid in the UN to ban the JeM chief that generated negativity in bilateral ties.

“We encourage all parties related to the listing matter of Masood Azhar to have direct communication and work out a solution through serious consultations,“ Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a written communication to PTI on the issue which drew serious protests from New Delhi over Beijing’s last minute move to block its bid to slap a UN ban on Azhar. Replying to a question about whether there is any change in China’s stand on the issue after a number of top Indian officials conveyed India’s strong concerns over the move, Hua said as per the rules of the UN Committee on counterterrorism, the relevant countries should have direct talks. PTI