China’s protection of Abdul Rehman Makki, an international terrorist

23.06.2022

Fatima Orujova

Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher

    The recognition of Abdul Rehman Makki, the deputy chief of Lashkar-e-Taibaas an international terrorist has been blocked by China at the UN Security Council’s Al Qaeda (Dae’sh) and ISIL Sanctions Committee, which is also known as the UNSC 1267 Committee. (Introvigne, 2022). Lashkar-e-Taiba is a militant Islamist organisation that is banned in Pakistan (Introvigne, 2022). The group is already recognised as a terrorist organization by the United Nations 1267 Committee (Introvigne, 2022). The UN Committee has also recognised Jama’at-ud-Da’wah, the branch of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist group. 

       Moreover, on April 8 this year, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced the political leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba  and Jama’at-ud-Da’wah, Hafiz Saeed that is Abdul Rehman Makki’s cousin to 33 years’ imprisonment over his activities of financing terrorism (Introvigne, 2022). 

     In fact, between 2009 and 2019, China also continuously vetoed the declaration of Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi, the leader of the Pakistan-based Deobandi ultra-fundamentalist Islamic group that is known for numerous severe terrorist attacks (Introvigne, 2022). Yet, on May 1, 2019, Alvi was declared as a global terrorist following China’s eventual step of recognition (Introvigne, 2022). 

          China’s acts of protecting the Pakistan-based terrorist groups as a permenant member of the Security Council with the right of veto have been regarded as its willingness to be a proxy for Pakistan at the United Nations (Introvigne, 2022).

Further reading and sources

Introvigne, M. (2022, June 23). Abdul Rehman Makki: Why Are China and Pakistan Protecting a Terrorist? Bitter Winter. Retrieved 23 June, 2022 from https://bitterwinter.org/abdul-rehman-makki-pakistan-protecting-terrorist/