On January 19, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki released a video from the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, denying any links with Al-Qaeda.
Abdul Rehman Makki said, “I believe that the grounds for my listing are based on heresy and disinformation by the Indian government. I never met Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri or Abdullah Azam as alleged by some propaganda reports,”. He also denounced the views and actions of Al-Qaeda and said that it was the opposite of what he believed in.”I denounce all kinds of terrorism and violence perpetrated by such groups. I believe in the principal position of the Pakistani government regarding Kashmir…,” he added.
He regretted the UN Security Council’s decision, saying: “No due process was followed or information was provided regarding these listings.”Notably, India’s relentless efforts to list Pakistan-based terrorists paid off as Makki was finally listed as a ‘global terrorist’.
India has made Pakistani terrorist lists a top priority of its United Nations tenure during 2021-22, according to the sources.
India submitted a total of five names for designation under 1267 in 2022: Abdul Rehman Makki (LeT), Abdul Rauf Asghar (Jaish-e-Mohammed, JeM), Sajid Mir (LeT), Shahid Mahmood (LeT), and Talha Saeed (LeT).
Each of these five names was initially placed on technical hold by one member state while all other 14 members of the Council agreed to their listing.
The Makki case was filed by India on June 1, 2022, with the United States as a co-designator. According to the sources, one member state placed a technical hold on June 16, 2022, and after six months, again renewed its hold in mid-December.Although success on the list came shortly after India’s departure from the Council, this was a culmination of long-standing and persistent efforts made over the last several months, along with partner countries.
On January 17, China finally lifted its ‘technical hold’ on the designation of Makki as a global terrorist under the 1267 UN Sanctions Committee after leaving the country isolated in the Security Council.
This listing comes after China last year put a ‘technical hold’ on India’s bid to name the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader a global terrorist. In June 2022, India slammed China after it blocked the proposal to list terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the Sanctions Committee, also known as the UNSC 1267 Committee.
The UN in a statement said, “On January 16 2023, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities approved the addition of the entry specified below to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2610 (2021) and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,”.
India and the United States have already listed Makki as terrorists under their domestic laws. He has been involved in fundraising, recruiting and radicalizing youth into violence and planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Makki has held various leadership positions at LeT, the United States Designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), while also playing a role in raising funds for LeT operations.
According to the US State Department, in 2020, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court convicted Makki on one count of terrorism financing and sentenced him to prison.
