China has responsibility to not shield Pakistan: US
Washington, Mar 21: China has a responsibility not to shield Pakistan and should urge Islamabad to take action against terrorists, a senior Trump administration official has said, expressing deep disappointment over Beijing's decision to block a bid in the UN to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist".
Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) led by Azhar claimed responsibility for the February 14 terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pulwama district which killed 40 Indian security personnel.
"We think China has a responsibility to not shield Pakistan and join the international community in calling on Pakistan to take action against terrorists operating on its soil," the senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday.
After the Pulwama attack, the US, France and Britain moved a resolution in the UN Sanctions Committee of the Security Council to designate Azhar as a "global terrorist".
The move suffered a setback as China put a "technical hold" on the proposal for the fourth time, a move India termed as disappointing.
"We believe that China and the US share a mutual interest in achieving regional stability and peace. And that any failure on the Security Council as part to designate Masood Azhar as a terrorist would run counter to this mutual goal that China and the United States have," the official said.
"We don't really understand this. China should not be shielding Pakistan's support for known terrorist organisations. So, we're hoping that we can work together on a mutual goal in terms of countering terrorism and upholding our security council responsibility," the official said.
The Trump administration's view on China's decision on Azhar came as Germany initiated a move at the European Union to list the JeM leader as a global terrorist.
Nothing that it was not the first time the JeM attacked India, the official said this was the reason the Trump administration thinks now is the time for Pakistan to crackdown on the terror group.
This has been made very clear to the leadership of Pakistan, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
This same group was responsible for other attacks in India like the 2001 Parliament attack, which resulted in a six-month India-Pakistan mobilisation, the official said.
The US is also working at the United Nations, urging Pakistan to uphold its responsibilities pursuant to its UN Security Council commitments to deny safe haven and support to terrorists
and to freeze the funds and financial assets of entities on the UN Security Council 1267 sanctions list.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
