Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar’s French assets to be seized by Emmanuel Macron govt: Report

Emmanuel Macron government has decided to freeze the French assets of Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar, Reuters reported on Friday. The decision comes after China blocked the UN resolution declaring him a ‘global terrorist.’ France was one of the nations that had backed the UNSC proposal, which was vetoed by China. The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after a suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama.

It lead to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan. In a late-night vote, Beijing placed a technical hold on the terror tag on Masood Azhar in the UNSC. Azhar was released by the then BJP government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as part of a deal to free the Kandahar plane hijack hostages in December 1999.