International Polity - Current Affairs for January, 2017

The federal government's top lawyer, US Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had said Justice Department would not defend new travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority nations.

This was because she was not convinced they were lawful.

Trump's directive on Friday put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country,

He also placed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria. Also included is a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The White House dismissed her comments as rhetoric and said Trump acted within his presidential powers.

There have been only a handful of instances in US history of top Justice Department officials publicly breaking with the White House.

The most famous example was in 1973, when then-Attorney General Elliot Richardson resigned. He refused to obey President Richard Nixon's order to fire a special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.

An internal Department of Homeland Security document showed 348 visa holders were kept from boarding US-bound flights this week. More than 200 people came to the United States but were denied entry.

More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by US Customs and Border Protection officers in airports, including 394 green card holders, who are legal permanent residents of US.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country's biggest Muslim advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 people.

Technology companies Amazon.com Inc and Expedia Inc , both of which are based in Washington state's Seattle area, will support the state's suit.

Microsoft Corp, said it has been cooperating with the attorney general's office to provide information about the order's impact to be supportive.

Other companies also went public with concerns, including the chief executives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Ford Motor Co.

The Iraqi parliament voted to ask the country's government to retaliate against the United States, putting at risk cooperation in the fight against Islamic State.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson joined a chorus of concern expressed by US allies, ranging from Iraq to Germany.

Also Muslim majority nations, where the Trump Organisation is active and which in some cases have faced troublesome issues with terrorism, do not figure in the list.

Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen are targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump in his executive order on 27^th Jan 2017.

These are the nations where he does not have any business interests.

The “extreme vetting” bars all entry by travellers from these countries for the next 90 days.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group has filed a lawsuit arguing that Mr. Trump is already in violation of a constitutional provision barring federal officials from accepting payments from foreign officials.

The high-risk territories are based on Congressional statute and nothing else, a White House spokesperson said.

Trump has retained ownership of the company, meaning if it thrives during his presidency, he will profit.

US President Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American attorney Uttam Dhillon to a key White House position on ethics and compliance matters.

Dhillon served as Chief Oversight Counsel for the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

He has been appointed as Special Assistant to the President.

In this position, he would be part of the legal team to serve under White House Counsel Donald F McGahn with respect to compliance and ethics matters.

Prior to joining Financial Services, Dhillon served as chief of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement.

He previously worked as an Associate Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice.

He was also Chief Counsel for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security.

Previous posts include Policy Director for the US House of Representatives Policy Committee, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles.

Dhillon graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley in 1987.

A judicial order on 28th Jan 2017 stayed the deportation of people from seven Muslim-majority countries who arrived in the U.S.

This is after President Donald Trump barred their entry into the country through an executive order on Friday.

The judicial order does not deal with the merit of the executive order issued by Mr. Trump that could be deemed unconstitutional as it effectively sanctions religious discrimination.

The New York court order extends to all of America and provides relief to people in similar situations but at least three more court rulings on similar lines have been reported from other States.

Protests erupted across America, particularly at airports where travelers were detained.

Sergey Brin - a Russian immigrant and cofounder of Google - was among the protesters at San Francisco International Airport.

Those detained or not allowed to travel to American include holders of permanent residency permits – popularly called green cards – students and business people.

Mr. Trump’s selection of seven countries that figure in the list has also brought into focus questions of conflicts of interests

Wall In Mexico: Know More

• President Donald Trump has set in motion his plan to build a wall between the US and Mexico.
• The border is about 1,900 miles (3,100 km) long and traverses all sorts of terrain.
• Trump says his wall will cover 1,000 miles and natural obstacles will take care of the rest.

President Donald Trump has picked a critic of the net neutrality rules to be chief regulatory of airwaves and internet connections in the US.

Ajit Pai has been chosen as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commision wef 24^th Jan 2017.

Pai was also on five-member panel that regulates the country’s communications infrastructure, including TV, phone and internet service.

There are currently just three members on the panel.

The Republicans’ new majority at the FCC, along with their control of Congress and the White House, is expected to help them roll back policies for net neutrality.

Pai said he would aim for an industry friendly FCC. A deregulation-minded FCC could potentially allow more huge mergers, overturn new protections for internet users.

It could lead to higher costs for media and technology companies that rely on the internet to reach consumers.

Pai opposed online privacy regulations that force broadband providers to ask consumers for permission before using their data.

The Internet Association, a trade group that represents tech and video companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Netflix also lauded the move.

The FCC currently has a 2-1 Republican majority and two empty seats, which will be filled by one Republican and one Democrat.

Know More About Ajit Pai

• Pai, an Indian-American from Kansas, has been an FCC commissioner since 2012.
• During 15 years in government, he’s been a Senate staffer and worked at the FCC and the Justice Department.
• He was also a lawyer for Verizon and an attorney at the law firm Jenner & Block.

United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled that the government could not trigger Article 50 - the E.U. article that sets out how a country can leave the union - without a parliamentary vote.

This is upholding the 2016 High Court verdict.

However devolved legislatures in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will not need to be consulted to trigger Article 50.

The 11 justices of the Supreme Court voted 8-3 for this judgement.

Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court on 23rd Jan 2017, said accepting the claimant’s argument that leaving the E.U. would change UK law.

It would also harm the rights of its residents.

The justices rejected government arguments that the 1972 European Communities Act allows for Minsters to withdraw from EU without Parliament vote.

On the devolution issue, the court considered the Sewel Convention that states that Westminster did not legislate on devolved issues.

It ruled that while the convention played an important role, the policing of its scope and operation is not a matter for the court.

This ruling is a set back for the UK government.

This will however, not change government’s timetable for triggering Article 50 by the end of March.

Theresa May: Know More

• Theresa Mary May, MP is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• She is the Leader of the Conservative Party w.e.f July 2016.
• She has been the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead since 1997.
• Born: 1 October 1956, Eastbourne, United Kingdom
• Education: St Hugh's College, Oxford (1974–1977)

Turkish parliament approved 7 of 18 constitutional amendments in the first round of voting to move Turkey to an executive-presidential system.

All 7 articles received more than 330 votes. That number is the required majority to take constitutional amendments to referendum.

The changes will bring an increase to the number of lawmakers represented in parliament to 600 from the current 550.

Elections will be renewed every five years instead of four.

Parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously with presidential elections.

The new system enables the elected president to keep links with his or her political party and will be permitted to run it.

The Turkish parliament has also approved the constitutional reform bill that includes strengthening the powers of the presidency.

Mr Erdogan, who could now retain presidency till 2029, says the reform will provide stability in the European Union candidate country. His opponents fear authoritarian rule.

Bill was approved with 339 votes, parliament said ; it needed 330 deputies in the 550-member assembly to support it in order to go to a public vote.

Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency - a largely ceremonial position - in 2014 after over a decade as prime minister.

Turkey has also been hit by a spate of deadly bombings and gun attacks by Islamic State and Kurdish militants over the past year and a half.

Turkey: Know More

• Capital: Ankara
• President: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
• Currencies: Turkish lira sign, Turkish lira
• Official language: Turkish

US President Donald Trump (70) was sworn in as the 45^th President of the United States of America (USA).

He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts.

He succeeded Barack Obama who completed his second four year term.

With this, he became first President of USA without political experience since Dwight D. Eisenhower (34^th President).

Besides, Mike Pence was also sworn-in as the Vice President of the US before Trump.

Bulgaria's new president, Rumen Radev, took his oath of office on 19^th Jan 2017. He will take over the post from Rosen Plevneliev.

Radev is the country's fifth democratically elected president. He was sworn in at a ceremony in Parliament on 19th Jan 2017.

The swearing in ceremony also incorporated Vice-President Iliana Yotova.

53-year-old Radev is the former chief of the Bulgarian Air Force.

He defeated the ruling center-right party's candidate in a November election.

This triggered an early parliamentary vote to be held in the spring.

Radev indicated that he will work for improving social systems and the economy.

Bulgaria is a Balkan country of 7.2m.

It joined EU 10 years ago. The country is the poorest member of the 28 nation bloc.

Bulgaria's presidency is primarily ceremonial.

The head of state has no executive powers and all major policies must be approved by parliament.

But the popular election gives the post more influence and authority.

Radev's first task will be to appoint a caretaker government after Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's center-right coalition government resigned.

He also has to dissolve parliament and set a date for general elections.

Italian conservative and former spokesperson for Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, Antonio Tajani has been elected the new president.

63-year-old Tajani is a former EU commissioner as well.

He will head the European Parliament, taking over from Martin Schulz of Germany.

Tajani defeated fellow Italian Gianni Pitella for the post.

The European Parliament has the power to block/amend EU laws. It will have a final say on whether the Brexit deal will be approved with the UK.

Tajani secured 351 votes, Pitella, 282. The contest ran for its maximum 4 rounds.

European People's Party, under which Tajani fought, benefited from a coalition. The ALDE or parliament liberals were its ally, who hope to curb the influence of anti EU populists.

Pitella was a socialist.

ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt withdrew his candidacy, paving the way for Tajani's victory.

EPP candidate Tajani dedicated his win to those who succumbed in Italy earthquake and the victims of terrorists.

The Centre-Right now controls three major EU institutions. These are the EU Commission, Council and Parliament.

EPP is the biggest group in the parliament followed by the Socialists & Democrats group fielding Pitella. ALDE liberals are the 4th largest group.

Meanwhile, Martin Schulz is leaving the EU parliament to return to national politics in Germany.

The successor to him will have to sign off the deal for Britain's exit from the EU by late 2018-early 2019.

Know More About the European Parliament

• European Parliament (EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of EU.
• President: Antonio Tajani, EPP, since 17 January 2017
• Vice Presidents Number: 14
• Leader of largest political group: Manfred Weber, EPP
• Leader of 2nd largest political group: Gianni Pittella, S&D

United Kingdom unveiled her 12-point plan to leave European Union.

This is for implementing Brexit deal within two years in phased manner.

The priorities include:

• Control over immigration;
• Securing the rights of EU citizens in Britain;
• Committing to retain workers’ rights;
• Building a strong trading relationship with EU and rest of the world;
• Removing Britain from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice; and
• Making Britain an attractive place for investors and students.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK will make a clean break from the European Union. It will leave its single market of some 500 million people.

Ms. May said on 17^th Jan 2017 said that Britain must regain control of its laws and borders.

She called on the bloc to negotiate a free-trade agreement that will benefit both sides.

UK will seek the greatest possible access to it through a new, comprehensive, bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement.

Ms. May also announced Britain’s Parliament will be able to vote on the final divorce deal reached between the U.K. and European Union.

She did not address what would happen should there be a vote against the agreement.

The British pound rallied as Ms. May focused on keeping Britain open to global trade.

Ms. May rejected both the “hard Brexit” label and “soft Brexit” but wants a new relationship in the interests of both Britain and the EU.

Britain is quitting the EU’s single market in goods and services in order to gain control over immigration.

Losing single-market access alarms many in Britain’s huge financial services sector.

Ms. May said she would invoke Article 50 of the EU’s key treat by March 31. This will formally begin a two-year process of negotiating Britain’s departure.

The country will chair at the head of the world’s largest organization of developing states to tackle tax havens and the corruption they breed.

President of Ecuador Rafael Correa assume the chairmanship of the Group of 77.

The charge was summed in New York on 13th Jan 2017. G-77 is the the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries at the UN.

This marks chairmanship for the first time in the Andean nation's history.

G-77's mission is to promote South-South cooperation and enhance joint negotiating capacity within the UN system.

Ecuador will work to ensure that tax havens be banned to avoid corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion."

Correa is leading the campaign against corporate and individual tax fraud by example.

He has launched a national referendum in Ecuador. In this, citizens will vote in February on a proposed ban on public servants or elected officials keeping money in offshore tax havens.

Correa launched national and international campaigns against tax avoidance after the Panama Papers leaks.

He wants to use Ecuador’s one-year term as head of the coalition of 134 nations from the Global South to demonstrate that at the UN, the General Assembly should make the most important decisions.

Ecuador: Know More

• Capital: Quito
• Currency: United States Dollar
• President: Rafael Correa
• Official language: Spanish

President elect Donald Trump appointed his influential son-in-law Jared Kushner as a White House senior adviser on 9^th Jan 2017.

This puts estate executive Kushner in position to exert broad sway over both domestic and foreign policy.

It will influence particularly Middle East issues and trade negotiations.

Kushner is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka. She will not be taking a formal White House position.

Mr. Kushner’s own eligibility for the White House could be challenged, given a 1967 law meant to bar government officials from hiring relatives.

Mr. Kushner will resign as CEO of his family’s real estate company and as publisher of the New York Observer.

The anti-nepotism law had appeared to be the main obstacle to Mr. Kushner joining the White House.

Know More About Jared Kushner

• Born: January 10, 1981 (age 35),
• Place of Birth: Livingston, New Jersey, United States
• Spouse: Ivanka Trump (since 2009)
• Education: Harvard University (2003), Frisch School.

Theresa May government has appointed a new ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow who faced down Vladimir Putin and is likely to move forward in Brussels.

Barrow has been appointed as Britain's new EU ambassador after a life-long career in the foreign office which saw him serve in senior roles twice before for Brussels.

He also held the post of Britain's ambassador to Moscow between 2011 and 2015; this marks one of the most testing periods in relations between the two nations.

Appointment of Sir Tim is in contrast to Sir Ivan Rogers who was termed a pessimist as opposed to Sir Tim who is a “pragmatic problem solver,” according to Downing Street ministers.

Sir Tim has also served as a rep to the EU Security Committee and as Ambassador to the Western European Union.

He was appointed political DG at the foreign office in March 2016 after leaving his role in Moscow. Rogers had a negative view of Brexit and possibly could not lead the negotiations after the PM triggers A50.

Crucial Dates in the Brexit Timeline

• January 2017: SC to deliver verdict on whether May can trigger A50 using a royal prerogative rather than a Parliament Act.
• March 31, 2017: Deadline set for invoking A50 by notifying the EC of Britain's intention to leave the EU.
• Sept 30, 2018: EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier to wrap up Britain's exit from the Union.
• March 31, 2019: Theresa May Govt to wrap up Brexit negotiations.
• May 2019: Britain formally exits EU following ratification of Brexit by all member states.

Jovenel Moise has won the Haiti November 20^th Presidential election, ending the protracted electoral paralysis that had gripped Caribbean country's politics for a year and more.

Haiti provisional electoral council on 3rd Jan 2016 indicated Moise was the majority winner with 55.6 percent of the votes, turnout being low at 21 percent.

Moise, a previously little known businessman ran on behalf of the Tet Kale party of former president Michel Martelly who ended term without an elected successor.

But Moise's major challengers - Jude Celestin, Jean-Charles Moise and Maryse Narcisse - also contested the preliminary results of the latest elections.

The final official results gave runner-up Celestin 19.57 percent, Jean-Charles Moise 11.04 percent and Narcisse 9.01 percent. Moise lacks popular support with just 21 percent of voters participating in the electoral process.

48-year-old Moise runs a banana export company; Setting it as a model for rural development, on the campaign trial he popularised himself as Banana Man.

He is to be sworn in on Feb 7, 2017 taking over from interim president Jocelerme Privert who came to power in 2016. An October 2015 vote saw Moise win but an independent commission found massive fraud. Moise came first, defeating 26 other candidates.

Moise's closest rival had 19.5 percent of the votes, according to council spokesperson Nicole Simeon. Supporters of other leading candidates marched in the capital's streets in protest of the electoral council's decision.

Fanmi Lavalas party supporters called for the placement of their candidate as president instead, while supporters of left-wing candidate Jean-Charles Moise also led protests after initial results were released in October, 2015.

Know More About Haiti

• Capital: Port-au-Prince
• Currency: Haitian gourde
• Population: 10.32 million (2013) World Bank
• Official languages: French, Haitian Creole French
• Struggling to rebuild after hurricane in 2010, the country suffered major losses since.
• More than 60 percent of people living in Haiti survive with less than two dollars per day.
• Haiti has a debt of more than $2 billion.
• Growth is expected to be just one percent in 2017, due to a lack of public and private investment.
• In early October, Hurricane Matthew left damage of more than $2 billion in the south of the country.

US lawmakers voted to retain congressman Paul Ryan as speaker of the House of Representatives. He will be leading the 115^th Congress before president elect Donald Trump's inauguration on 20th Jan 2017.

US House members voted 239 to 189 to re-elect Ryan to the key post over top Democrat and former speaker Nancy Pelosi.

5 other lawmakers voted for others. As speaker of the House, Ryan will lead the 2 year incoming session of the house. He had opposed Donald Trump during the Presidential race and even had refused to campaign with the him ahead of the November 2016 election.

Know More About the US Speaker's Office

• Type: Presiding officer of one chamber in a bicameral legislature
• Residence: Washington, D.C.
• Seat: United States Capitol, District of Columbia, U.S.
• Nominator: Those qualified to be a representative; in practice member of the house and party leadership.
• Appointer: U.S. House of Representatives
• Elected by the House, sworn in by the Dean
• Term length: At the House's pleasure; elected at the start of each session, and upon a vacancy
• Constituting instrument: U.S. Constitution
• Formation: March 4, 1789
• First holder: Frederick Muhlenberg (April 1, 1789)
• Succession: Second in the Presidential Line of Succession
• Website: Speaker.go

President elect of the United States, Donald Trump named prominent trade attorney Robert Lighthizer as his chief trade negotiator. He will be in charge of negotiating deals and engaging in trade relationships with other countries.

Before this, Robert Lighthizer had served as the Deputy United States Trade Representative under the Ronald Regan administration and is known for harsh critic of China’s trade practices.

He has extensive experience in striking agreements that protect some of the most important sectors of the US. Lighthizer has repeatedly fought in the private sector to prevent bad deals from hurting Americans.

During his stint in the Regan Administration, he played a major role in developing trade policy and negotiating roughly two dozen bilateral international agreements on a variety of topics from grains to steel.

About the Office of the US Trade Representatives

• Formed: 1962
• Preceding agency: Office of the Special Trade Representative
• Headquarters: Winder Building 600 17th St. NW Washington, D.C.
• Employees: 200
• Website: www.ustr.gov
• Parent agency: Executive Office of the President of the United States

Current Trade Rep executives Under Obama Administration


• Michael Froman, US Trade Representative
• Robert Holleyman, Deputy US Trade Representative
• Michael Punke, Deputy US Trade Representative (Geneva)

Egypt’s government has approved a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and sent it to parliament for ratification, despite a legal dispute over the plan.

The deal, announced in April 2016, caused public uproar and protests by Egyptians who said the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir belonged to their country.

The controversy has become a source of tension with Saudi Arabia, which has provided Egypt with billions of dollars of aid but recently halted fuel shipments amid deteriorating relations.

In June 2016, Egypt’s higher administrative court annulled the agreement, saying Egyptian sovereignty over the islands could not be given up. The Egyptian government lodged an appeal.

Egyptian state advisory body recommended the court uphold its original decision.

Tiran and Sanafir are situated in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel.

Saudi and Egyptian officials say they belong to Saudi Arabia and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.

Lawyers who opposed the handover said Egyptian sovereignty over the islands dated to a 1906 treaty, which was before Saudi Arabia was founded.

Know More About Tiran & Sanafir

• Sanafir Island is an island in the Straits of Tiran east of Tiran Island.
• It is administered by Egypt.
• Area: 33 km^²Max length: 8.7 km
• The Tiran island is located at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.
• It has an area of about 80 square kilometres (31 square miles).

Socialist-democrat Sorin Grindeanu was on 30^th Dec 2016 named as the PM of Romania.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis signed the official decree naming Grindeanu as the new Prime Minister.

Iohannis turned down the appointment of Sevil Shhaideh, an economist who could have been the first female Muslim PM of Romania.

Grindeanu will now face the confidence vote in the Romanian Parliament on his programme and cabinet nominees.

Once the appointment has been approved, 10 days will be given to name the government ministers.

The appointment of Sorin Grindeanu as the Prime Minister will now put an end to a political crisis that was sparked by the Iohannis's rejection of Sevil Shhaideh as the Prime Minister.

The president offered no reasons for his rejection of Shhaideh.

Shhaideh's husband worked in the Syrian Agriculture Ministry for 20 years before emigrating to Romania in 2011.

Shhaideh's name was proposed by the Social Democratic Party after its thumping poll victory on in December 2016 elections when it won 45 percent of the vote that was enough to form a majority coalition with its partners The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE).

Know More About Sorin Grindeanu

• Grindeanu is a member of the Social Democratic Party which has won the Dec 2016 elections.
• He is also the Chairman of the Timis county council.
• Grindeanu is seen in Romania as a disciplined soldier within the Social Democratic Party ranks and has joined the party when he was young for his Leftist convictions.
• Graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics in Timirsoara West University in 1997 and served as the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society in Victor Ponta's cabinet.

The United States has slapped sanctions on 7 Pakistani entities associated with the missile programme of the country.

An official notification by the US Department of Commerce said the entities added to the EAR or Export Administration Regulations list.

It has been determined by the US government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.

All the 7 have been placed on the entity list under the destination of Pakistan.

These 7 entities have been identified as:

i. Ahad International

ii. Air Weapons Complex

iii. Engineering Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

iv. Maritime Technology Complex National Engineering and Scientific Commission,

v. New Auto Engineering

vi. Universal Tooling Services

Pakistan is denying wrongdoing in connection with the nuclear or missile programme.

US government held that there was reasonable cause to believe on specific and articulable facts that government, parastatal and private entities in Pakistan are determined to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy of the US.

The conduct of these 7 entities raised concerns regarding the prior review of the exports, re-exports or transfers of item subject to the EAR involving these persons.

A possible imposition of license conditions or license denials on shipments to persons will enhance the ability of the department to prevent EAR violations.

The placement on the list imposes a license requirement for all items subject to the EAR and license review policy of the presumption of denial.

The license requirements apply to any transaction in which items are to be exported, re-exported, or transferred to any of the entities or in which such entities act as purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee or end user.

No license exceptions are available for exports, re-exports or transfers to persons being added to the entity list in this rule.

Restrictions will apply to acronyms used by entities to help exporters, re-exporters and transferors.

Notification does not specify the violations committed by these entities and does not provide details of items exported, imported or re-exported by them.

China has once again blocked India’s proposal in United Nations to list Pathankot terror attack Mastermind Jaish-e-Muhammad’s Chief Masood Azhar as a global designated terrorist under 1267 Sanctions Committee.

This is third time China has put technical hold to declare Pakistan based JeM Chief global terrorist. China was the only member in the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) to put a hold on India’s application.

All other 14 members of the UNSC supported India’s bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject freezing his assests and travel ban.

India has expressed concern over China move and mentioned that it confirms prevalence of double standards of China in the fight against terrorism.

Masood Azhar

• Masood Azhar is the founder and leader of the UN-designated terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
• It is active mainly in the Pakistani administered Azad Kashmir.
• Born: July 10, 1968 (age 48), Bahawalpur, Pakistan
• Organizations founded: Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen