Qureshi hints Pak may not oppose listing of JeM chief as global terrorist by UNSC
Islamabad, Mar 4: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday hinted that his country may not oppose a joint move by France, Britain and the US in the UN Security Council to list Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group's chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
"Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi told Geo TV in an interview.
Last week, the US, the UK and France moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, a listing that will subject him to global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo.
The Security Council Sanctions Committee has 10 working days to consider the fresh proposal submitted by the three members. It is the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist.
When asked whether Pakistan will request its close ally China to veto the resolution once again in the UNSC, Qureshi said his government will try to build a consensus among all parties and do what's in Pakistan's interests.
"We have some global commitments...We will have to take action which doesn't harm our global reputation," he said, without elaborating.
Describing the situation following the Pulwama terror attack as a "defining moment" for Pakistan, he said Pakistan doesn't want to go for a war with India.
"We want peace. Our people want jobs, they want reforms in institutions, they want us to crackdown on corruption...," he added.
In 2009, India moved a proposal to designate Azhar, whose UN-proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed.
In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 - the US, the UK and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016.
In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions, China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time.
India has strongly reiterated its appeal to all members of the international community to support the proposal to list terrorists, including Azhar, as designated terrorists under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, and to ban terrorist organisations operating from territories controlled by Pakistan.
Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. India Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of JeM in the attack.
When asked about the dossier on JeM handed over by India, Qureshi said, "We are examining it and we will respond accordingly."
According to a top government source here, Pakistan has decided to launch a crackdown on terror outfits, including JeM and its chief Azhar, in order to de-escalate the tensions with India and the action is "expected any time soon".
Pakistan Monday promulgated a law to streamline the procedure for the implementation of the UN sanctions against individuals and organisations, amid mounting pressure from the global community to rein in the terror groups operating on its soil and curb their financing.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
