Prime Minister Imran Khan Refrains From Criticizing China on Uyghur Situation in Xinjiang Province

Prime Minister Imran Khan refrained from criticizing China on the matter of treatment of Uyghur Muslims. When he was questioned about it, he replied, “This is not a case”.

When he was further pressurized, Khan stated that how he refrains from commenting on the situations of other countries. He added that he is more concerned about his own country. He said that the issue of Kashmir is the main concern right now.

Muslims of Xinjiang

According to reports, around 11 million Uyghurs – a largely Turkish-speaking ethnic group – resides in China’s northwestern province, Xinjiang. As per a US report in 2018, since 2017, China had detained probably 2 million Uyghur and other members of Muslim minorities in internment camps.

G-7 Meeting With China

At the conclusion of the G-7 Summit in Cornwall, Britain, from June 11 to 13, the leaders of the member countries issued a joint statement in which they, among other things, “[called on] China to protect human rights and basic freedoms, particularly in relation to Xinjiang.”

However, the meeting did not end well as the leading spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in the UK said, “The Group of Seven (G-7) takes advantage of Xinjiang-related issues to engage in political manipulation and interfere in China’s internal affairs, which we firmly oppose.”

Imran’s Thoughts on China

In his Axios interview, Prime Minister Imran said, “Our discussions with the Chinese will always be behind closed doors”, which would lead one to believe that disagreements are shared in private because the only thing that makes its way to the public is resounding praise. In January this year, Khan lavished some more of it on China, by saying, “If we can learn from any one country in the world, it is China. Their development model suits Pakistan the best.”

CPEC And Chinese Investment in Pakistan

Pakistani and Chinese officials described the relation of both countries as “higher than the mountains and deeper than the ocean”.

The United Nation Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) reports estimate that during 2019, Pakistan FDI worth $34.8 billion. And China contributed the most.

A report in Asia Times states, “Analysts say non-CPEC Chinese private investment in Pakistan is increasingly driven by cheap labour and securing access to raw materials that are shipped back to China’s factories. China is also building factories in Pakistan to export finished goods directly to European markets.”

Khan’s Selective Outrage About Treatment of Muslims

“I concentrate on what is happening on my border, in my country,” Khan told Axios, going on to name-drop Palestine, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Afghanistan, before asking, “Am I going to start talking about everything?”

However, this criticism is limited to India only. Last year he wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, which was no more than a trigger to hit on India.

In his letter to the CEO of Facebook, Prime Minister Imran asked to ban Islamophobia just as Facebook has banned questioning or criticizing the holocaust.

What happened to focus on “what is going on on my border, in my country”? With such a strong Chinese involvement in its economy, it’s probably understandable that Khan refuses to speak out against China’s abuses while gleefully fueling the embers of discord elsewhere.

Also Read

Beijing accuses Nato of overstressing ‘China threat theory’

Beijing accuses Nato of exaggerating the threat from China and “creating confrontation”,...