India’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Syed Akbaruddin, criticised the United Nations General Assembly for failing to impose sanctions on the leaders of organisations that it has itself designated as terrorist entities. The condemnation came after China decided to maintain its technical hold on India’s bid to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated a terrorist.

Without taking China’s name, Akbaruddin said that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is a body that ‘ponders for six months on whether to sanction leaders of organisations it has itself designated as terrorist entities’.

"At best, it is now a body that can be described as an interesting and random mix of ad-hocism, scrambling and political paralysis. This global governance architecture now calls for comprehensive reform," the Indian envoy said.

First on 31 March and then again on 1 October, China blocked India's move to put a ban on Masood Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council. The case has been on the UNSC’s agenda since 2009, when it was put on technical hold by the United Kingdom and China.

Days after it blocked India’s bid, China called for a global response to curb cross-border movement of foreign terrorists. Interestingly enough, Masood Azar does not fit into Beijing’s definition of a terrorist, and veto-wending members of the UN remain largely complicit.