Former Indian High Commissioner Pakistan Gautam Bambawale said today that India succeeded in establishing strong links between Jaish-e- Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, Al-Qaeda and ISIS, leading to his designation as a "global terrorist".
Speaking on the sidelines of a lecture in Pune, Mr Bambawale said. "The listing and designation of Masood Azhar as an international terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is a big diplomatic win for India. It is also a victory for other countries like France, United States, United Kingdom who helped us," he said.
"While deciding on listing a particular terrorist as a global terrorist, the 1267 committee the UNSC looks for linkage between the terrorist and ISIS and Al-Qaeda and in Masood Azhar's case, India did exactly the same."
There is no need to give evidence that a terrorist has done something in Kashmir or against India when seeking to designate him as an international terrorist, he said.
Asked how Pakistan is expected to react to the development, he said, "Pakistan could be very disappointed that China did not back it and allowed the listing to happen. But the more important thing is the international community should get Pakistan to apply all the rules and regulations on Masood Azhar," he said.
Talking about China's role in Masood Azhar's blacklisting, he said this is a lesson in diplomacy for Indians that "even if China wants to oppose certain things, there are ways to outdo it and fulfil our objective".
