Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief and Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar. (File photo)
Days after China put a permanent hold on India’s proposal to impose sanctions on Pathankot mastermind and JeM Chief Maulana Masood Azhar, the French Presidents Diplomatic Advisor, Jacques Audibert, told CNN-News18 that France has not given up on the proposal and is still hopeful that the UN will designate Azhar as a terrorist soon.
“There is still hope to get Azhar designated at the 1267 committee. We have not given up,” he said.
France is a member of the 15 member 1267 committee which is dealing with India’s proposal to designate Maulana Masood Azhar as a terrorist. Audibert said that France, as a co-sponsor of the move, was totally convinced about India’s demands and will continue working to fulfill the same with the help of other partners.
The Presidents diplomatic advisor also said:”France remains supportive of India’s aspirations to be a member of the nuclear suppliers group,” he said, “We feel India is totally justified in its demand to enter NSG. We are supporters of India’s entry into NSG and its credentials.”
Speaking about the Scorpene submarine deal with India, which was recently in the news due to an alleged leak of secret documents, Audibert made it clear that the French government doesn’t think the program has been compromised. He said, “There has been a very in-depth cooperation with the Indian government to make sure that the leaks don’t challenge the security of the program or the operational ability of the equipment.”
India’s scorpene submarines are being built in collaboration with a French firm DCNS. The French government had launched an investigation after an Australian paper reported on the leak of documents related to India’s submarine program.