China blocks moves to list Azhar as global terrorist: Official

Beijing: China on Thursday blocked another bid by the US, France and the UK to list Pakistan-based JeM chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN, saying it has rejected the move as "there is no consensus".

A veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India's move to put a ban on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council.

The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN's list of banned terror outfits.

China had in August extended by three months its technical hold on the the US, France and UK-backed proposal to list Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN after having blocked the move in February this year at the United Nations.

"China has rejected the move as there is no consensus," sources in the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The comment came as the China's technical hold on a proposal by the US, France and Britain to list Azhar as a global terrorist was set to lapse on Thursday. The official's comment indicates that China will veto the application in the 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council to allow it to lapse.

This is the second year in succession that China has blocked the resolution. Last year, China had done the same to stall India's application before the same Committee.