A day after saying it shared India's concern about terrorism, China on Tuesday said it still had issues in declaring Pakistani militant Masood Azhar as an international terrorist.
This is a clear signal from Beijing that it will again block New Delhi's move to act against the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief.
"At present, some members still have a disagreement over the listing matter," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.
Beijing has in the past vetoed India's proposal at the UN Security Council to add Azhar to the list of international terrorists, citing lack of solid evidence against the JeM chief who is accused of plotting the terror attack on the IAF base at Pathankot.
"We have talked about our position many times. We believe that the principles of objectivity and professionalism and justice shall be upheld," Geng said.
"China stands ready to remain in coordination and communication with the relevant parties on this issue."
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Beijing's reaction comes a day after India and China expressed growing concerns over terrorism and forged consensus with BRICS countries to step up the fight against terrorism.
At the BRICS Foreign Ministers meet on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China was a victim of terrorism and shared India's concern.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh said India and China agreed that terrorism posed a challenge to the whole world.
The issue of Azhar has caused friction between India and China, whose ties have taken a hit over a host of issues.
(Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com)
--IANS
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