External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj strongly raised with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the issue of China blocking India’s bid to get JeM chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN. Swaraj took up the issue with Wang at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meeting of foreign ministers.

Earlier this month, China HAS stopped THE UN sanctions committee from designating Azhar as A terrorist, maintaining that the case "did not meet the requirements" of the Security Council. This is not the first time China has blocked India's bid to get Pakistan-based militant groups and leaders proscribed by the UN.

"The procedures of unanimity and anonymity of the al-Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS Sanctions Committees need to be revisited. The procedures of unanimity and anonymity result in a lack of accountability," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin had told the UN Security Council in an open debate on 'Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts'.

"We are meeting after a long gap and I think we should meet quite frequently. Because things are moving very fast in the world and if we meet frequently, we will be able to deliberate on those," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.

By Premji