India seeks UN action against Lashkar, Jaish, their supporters

United Nations, Dec 20: India has renewed its demand for international action against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror groups and "their shadowy supporters".

Denouncing the two organisations, whose leadership is based in Pakistan, as affiliates of Al Qaeda, India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told the Security Council that it was imperative to take action against the support they get from outside.

In an implied criticism of China, he blamed the "split" in the UN bodies that mete out sanctions on terrorist organisations for the world body's inability to deal with the terrorism.

China has blocked India's efforts to have international sanctions imposed on Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar by a committee that takes action against Al Qaeda and its affiliates. Azhar was behind the attack on the Pathankot air force base this year that left seven Indian soldiers dead.

As a member of the Security Council, China has also provided cover for Pakistan releasing on bail Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the LeT commander who masterminded the 2008 attack on Mumbai which killed more than 160 people. He was already on the UN list of those facing sanctions as terrorists.

"We need to address, as an imperative, the support that terrorist organizations like the Taliban, Haqqani Network, Daesh, AI Qaeda and its designated affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed which operate entirely outside the fabric of international law draw from their shadowy supporters outside Afghanistan," Akbaruddin said.

"While the Taliban sanctions regime remains split for more than five years, the designated terrorist group makes concerted effort to capture and hold territory," he said.

"Therefore, for numerous Afghan women, men and children there is no respite from the plague of terrorism."

The international community has to make "it clear that we will neither roll over in the face of terror, nor will we of allow the roll back of the achievements of the resolute people and government of Afghanistan in the last decade and a half," Akbaruddin said.