"China will continue to handle the relevant sanctions issue in a constructive and responsible manner," says its foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

China on Friday reiterated that it stood by the United Nations ban on Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), but stopped short of reversing its stance against sanctioning chief of the terror group Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

Asked to comment on China's stand on listing Azhar as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said:

"As for the issue of listing, I could tell you that the 1267 Committee of Security Council has a clear stipulation on the listing and procedure of the terrorist organisations.

"JeM has been included in the Security Council terrorism sanctions list. China will continue to handle the relevant sanctions issue in a constructive and responsible manner."

Mr. Geng signaled that China was looking for a solution to terrorism based on “regional” engagement. “We hope relevant regional countries will cooperate to cope with the threat of terrorism and jointly uphold regional peace and stability," he said.

On the pulwama attack on February 14 which is lonked to Azhar, he said: "China has noted the reports of the suicide terrorist attack. We are deeply shocked by this attack. We express deep condolences and sympathy to the injured and bereaved families."

In a statement in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs called upon “all members of the international community to support the proposal to list terrorists, including JeM Chief Masood Azhar, as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council and to ban terrorist organisations operating from territories controlled by Pakistan”.