Working with UN sanctions committee to ensure Masood Azhar listing: US

The United States is working with the United Nations sanctions committee to ensure the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in the list of terrorist organisations and leaders by the UN security council.

Responding to a question on Azhar's listing in United Nations terror list, Deputy Spokesperson of the state department, Robert Palladino said, "We will continue to work with the sanctions committee to ensure that the list is updated and that it is accurate."

Palladino was addressing his biweekly news conference in Washington.

Palladino also called Masood Azhar "a threat to regional stability" and urged Pakistan to take "sustained and irreversible" actions against terrorist groups operating from its territory. 

"We reiterate our call for Pakistan to abide by its United Nations Security Council obligations to deny terrorists safe haven and block their entry to funds."

"Jaish-e-Mohammed is a United Nations-designated terrorist group that has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and is a threat to regional stability," he said.

March 13 is the deadline for the listing of Masood Azhar as an international terrorist under the UNSC terror list if no other country raises an issue and block it. 

The US, UK and France have proposed the listing of Azhar as an international terrorist and all eyes are now on China, given its track record of blocking proposals to put Azhar on the list since 2010. 

Since the Pulwama terror attack, pressure has been growing on Pakistan on the issue of its support to terror. US, France, UK, Australia publically have called on Islamabad to rein in the terror groups on its territory.

Around 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives after an explosive-laden vehicle rammed into the army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14.

The responsibility of the attack was claimed Jaish-e-Mohammed group.