PATHANKOT ATTACK: NIA SPECIAL COURT ISSUES PROCLAMATION ORDERS AGAINST MASOOD AZHAR

New Delhi [India]: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court on Tuesday issued proclamation orders against Pathankot terror attack mastermind Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and three other JeM leaders. The NIA Special Court at Mohali, Punjab has issued Proclamation Orders under section 82 of the CrPC against the four accused. Besides Masood Azhar, the orders have been issued against Mufti Abdul Rauf Asgar, Deputy Chief of JeM, Shahid Lateef and Kashif Jan. The NIA Special Court has ordered the absconding accused to appear before the Court on March 9th 2017. Earlier in the day, the United States of America moved the United Nations for banning Masood Azhar, but faced a roadblock by China yet again. The US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal to designate Azhar as a global terrorist at the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, but it has once again been opposed by China. According to reports, the proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free. In a statement to the media today, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “Informed of this development and matter has been taken up with Chinese Government.” Last month, France has also extended its support for designating Azhar as a global terrorist, saying there are very strong arguments in favour of such a move. China is the only country among the counter terrorism committee of the UN Security Council which has objected to India’s request to list Azhar. Post the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February urged the UN requesting to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. (ANI)