ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Thursday defended its close ally China against agrowing outcry over Muslims who are being detained by Chinese authorities,saying the issue was being “sensationalised” by foreign media.
Numerous extrajudicial detention centres have been set up in China’s vast,troubled Xinjiang region, holding as many as one million ethnic Uighurs andother Muslim minorities, according to estimates cited by a UN panel.
Among them are believed to be dozens of women who married men fromneighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan, where people regularlycross the border into China for trade.
“Some section of foreign media are trying to sensationalise the matter byspreading false information,” Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for Pakistan’sministry of foreign affairs, told reporters at a weekly press briefing inIslamabad on Thursday.
“As per Chinese authorities, out of 44 women, six are already in Pakistan.Four have been convicted on various charges, three are underinvestigations, eight are under going voluntary training. Twenty-threewomen are free and living in Xinjiang of their own free will,” he added.
In recent years, Pakistan has heavily pushed its relationship with China,lauding the tens of billions of investment dollars that Beijing is pouringinto the country as a “game changer”.
Beijing has also upgraded the treacherous mountain road connectingGilgit-Baltistan to Xinjiang.
But China has had difficulty reconciling its desire for development withfears that Uighur separatists will import violence from Pakistan.
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Chinese authorities have long linked their crackdown on Xinjiang’s Muslimsto international counter-terrorism efforts, arguing that separatists arebent on joining foreign extremists like Al-Qaeda.
They describe the camps as “vocational education centres” for people whoappear to be drawn towards Islamist extremism and separatism.
But human rights activists say members of China’s Muslim minorities arebeing held involuntarily for transgressions such as wearing long beards andface veils, and that the region has become a police state.
Faisal said his ministry and Chinese authorities will continue tocoordinate on this matter.
“The Chinese authorities have also offered to arrange visits to Xinjiang ofthe families of the convicted women,” said Faisal. – APP/AFP
