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U.N. anti-terror committee blacklists LeT’s Abdul Rehman Makki

The ISIL and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) has placed Jamat-ud-Dawa’s Abdul Rehman Makki, fundraiser and a key planner of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, in its sanctions list. Abdul Makki was one of five such listings of leaders of the LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) blocked by China between June and November last year, after joint India-U.S. proposals for their listing, while India was still in the UNSC.

Officials did not comment on why there was a turnaround in the Chinese position, and whether other listings requested would now go through.

“Abdul Rehman Makki and other LET/JUD operatives have been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youth to violence and planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K),” said the Committee, explaining the reasons that prompted it to add Makki to the blacklist.

India and the United States had listed Makki as a terrorist under national laws and had jointly proposed to blacklist him under the U.N. Security Council’s ISIL and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee on June 1, 2022. But China placed a “technical hold” on the India-U.S. proposal during that occasion and stopped that process. At that time, India had termed China’s “technical hold” as “extremely unfortunate”.

For adding Makki’s name in the sanctions list, the Committee on January 16, has cited seven terror attacks including the 2000 Red Fort attack, the 2008 Rampur attack, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The 2018 attack in Gurez that killed four Indian Army soldiers was also linked to him by the Committee.

The anti-terror committee further said that Makki is the head of the LeT political affairs and has served in the LeT’s foreign relations department and the Shura (governing body). “He is also a member of JUD’s Markazi (Central) team and Daawati (proselytization) team,” said the Committee highlighting that he is the brother-in-law of Hafiz Saeed who is “wanted by the Indian Government”.