Former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.The Congress is happy that the process to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar has concluded successfully, former Union minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday while wondering why Pakistan wants Narendra Modi to continue as Prime Minister.
In a series of tweets, the Congress leader said Azhar was released in 1999 by a BJP government after the hijack of an Indian Airlines aircraft. “After Masood Azhar masterminded the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, the process to name him as a global terrorist was started by a Congress/UPA government in 2009,” he said.
“We are happy that the process has concluded successfully in 2019. But why does the Prime Minister of Pakistan want Mr Modi to continue as Prime Minister of India?” he added.
The former finance minister’s remarks came a day after China lifted its technical hold on the listing under the UN Security Council resolution 1267 sanctions committee. China, which had signed off on the UNSC’s “condemnation statement” on the Pulwama terror attack in February that was claimed by the JeM, yielded after two-and-half months of sustained behind-the-scenes negotiations involving India, US, UK and France.
Speaking on similar lines, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati accused the ruling BJP of “trying to gather votes on his name”. “Earlier, the BJP government had made Masood Azhar a guest and later freed him abroad. Now, at the time of elections, they are trying to gather votes on his name. It is condemnable,” she was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Taking credit for the development on Wednesday, the saffron party said it was a “historic success for India in its fight against terrorism”. “This chowkidar has not left any stone unturned in keeping the nation’s standing intact,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a rally in Jaipur.
