Guwahati: Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki has been added to the UN Security Council’s list of foreign terrorists. India said it will push for the international community to take stern action against terrorism.
Responding to media queries regarding the listing of Makki by UNSC’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We welcome the decision of the UN Security Council’s ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee to list Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki, who is also the brother-in-law of LeT leader Hafiz Saeed. Makki has occupied various leadership roles in LeT, including raising funds for the organisation.”
“Threats from terrorist organisations in the region remain high and listings and sanctions by the UNSC, are an effective tool to curb such threats and dismantle terror infrastructure in the region,” he added.
Bagchi added that New Delhi will keep pushing the international community to take action against terrorism that was credible, verifiable, and irreversible. Bagchi stated that India remained committed to pursuing a zero-tolerance policy to the crime.
China eventually released its “technical hold” on Makki’s classification as a global terrorist under the 1267 UN Sanctions Committee after being left outnumbered in the Security Council earlier on Tuesday.
This designation follows China’s decision to ‘technically hold’ India’s request to designate the leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a global terrorist last year. In June 2022, India criticised China for opposing the listing of terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the UNSC 1267 Committee’s Sanctions Committee.
“On 16 January 2023, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities approved the addition of the entry specified below to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2610 (2021) and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,” the UN said in a statement.
Makki has already been designated a terrorist by domestic legislation in India and the US. He has taken part in fund-raising, recruiting, radicalising, and planning terrorist strikes in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Makki has held a number of leadership positions inside the LeT, an FTO that the US has authorised, and has also contributed to fund-raising for LeT operations.
India filed Makki’s case on June 1, 2022, and the US joined as a co-designating state. On June 16, 2022, one member state placed a technical hold; it was renewed in mid-December.
During its 2021–22 UNSC term, India had made the designation of terrorists with ties to Pakistan a key priority. India proposed five names for designation under 1267 in 2022: Abdul Rehman Makki (LeT), Abdul Rauf Asghar (JeM), Sajid Mir (LeT), Shahid Mahmood (LeT), and Talha Saeed (LeT).
All 14 members of the Council agreed to list each of these five names, however one member state (China) first requested that they be placed on technical hold.
According to the US State Department, Makki was found guilty of financing terrorism on one count in 2020 and received a prison sentence.
Prior until this, China had made it difficult to list known terrorists, notably those from Pakistan. It had repeatedly rejected attempts to identify Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan that is prohibited by the UN.