‘Will Oppn Ever Catch a Break?’ Omar Abdullah on Perfect Timing of Masood Azhar’s Ban for BJP

Srinagar: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the UN designation of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was just "a symbolic win" and there was no mention of the deadly Pulwama attack or terror in Kashmir in the listing.

"No mention of terror in Kashmir & no mention of Pulwama. It's amazing how quickly the sacrifices of the CRPF men were sold down the river to get a symbolic win," he tweeted.

Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said Chinese diplomats' wordplay had allowed both India and Pakistan to claim diplomatic victory.

"The Chinese diplomats must be a happy bunch today. Their wordplay has allowed both India & Pakistan to claim a diplomatic victory. That's no small achievement," he said.

He, however, admitted that the UN listing of Azhar has come as a shot in the arm for BJP's "flagging" election campaign.

"The rest of the opposition must be wondering if it will ever catch a break. Every time the BJP campaign seems to be flagging it gets a shot in the arm. The #MasoodAzhar development in the UN today couldn't have come at a better time for the Modi ji's re-election campaign," he added on the micro-blogging site.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the United Nations' decision to list Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was a "big victory" in the fight against terror, and claimed that it will serve as the first step in his government's plan to end all terror acts aimed at India.

"From now on, whenever the country faces danger of any kind from anybody, we will enter their homes and eliminate them. If they fire bullets at us, we will fire bombs at them," he said at an election rally in Rajasthan's Jaipur.

"The world has begun listening to India over the last few years. We cannot be ignored anymore. And I would like to say openly that this is just the start. Just wait and see what happens next," PM Modi added.

The United Nations' designation of Azhar came through after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.

The UN committee listed Azhar on May 1, 2019 as being associated with al-Qaeda for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of", "supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material to", "recruiting for", "otherwise supporting acts or activities of", and "other acts or activities indicating association with" the JeM.

There was no mention of the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which was claimed by the JeM.

A UNSC designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo. An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.