india

Updated: May 02, 2019 01:39 IST

Prime minister Narendra Modi said during a rally at Jaipur on Wednesday that it was a proud day for 1.3 billion Indians, after the UN listed of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

“I seem to have a special relationship with Rajasthan, this land of the brave, When the air strikes took place, I had come to Churu for a public meeting... Today I have again come to Rajasthan with another news like that one. A media report coming from the US, New York, says that the UN has banned Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and dreaded terrorist Masood Azhar,” Modi said. “Finally there is consensus in the international community to declare Azhar as a global terrorist and this is a matter of satisfaction. Better late than never,” he said.

BJP president Amit Shah and several other party leaders credited Modi for Azhar’s listing while the Congress noted its “disappointment” over no mention of the Jaish e Mohammed chief’s role in the Pulwama terror attack in the UN resolution.

The Congress welcomed the blacklisting with party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala saying, “designation as a global terrorist is just the first step. All his sources of funding needs to be stopped. He added that the Modi government did not act fast enough on the issue. “We expected the Modi government to act at a greater speed in pursuing the declaration of Masood Azhar, but after the agenda-less visit of PM Modi to China (the Wuhan Summit), they did not push for this case with China in the entire period of 2018. Several precious lives in terror attacks like Pulwama could have been avoided if the Modi government had pushed international community, including China, to agree to declaration of Masood Azhar as international terrorist,” he said.

Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the sacrifices of CRPF men were sold down the river for a symbolic win. “No mention of terror in Kashmir and no mention of Pulwama. It’s amazing how quickly the sacrifices of the CRPF men were sold down the river to get a symbolic win,” he said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav congratulated the country’s diplomatic corps over the victory. “It is the first step in ensuring that Masood Azhar pays for his crimes. We demand Pakistan to immediately arrest him, freeze his assets and shut down all organisations linked to him,” tweeted Akhilesh.