Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has come out in support of China over allegations of its suppression of Uighur Muslims by claiming that the ground situation is different from what is being reported in the western media. China has been accused of putting Uighur Muslims in “reeducation camps” in its Xinjiang province which western governments have alleged to have conditions similar to the infamous concentration camps.
Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Moinul Khan, visited the province and reported to him that the ground situation is “not what the Western media portrays,” PM Khan said in an interview to CNN.
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This is not the first time that PM Khan has come out in support of China over the Uighur Muslim issue. Back in July 2021, he had supported the Chinese side against allegations of repressions by the west. “Our interaction with Chinese officials, that version of what is happening in Xinjiang is completely different to the version of what we hear from the Western media and the Western governments… Because we have our very strong relationship with China, and because we have a relationship based on trust, so we actually accept the Chinese version. What they say about their programmes in Xinjiang, we accept it,” PM Khan had told members of the Chinese news media who were visiting Islamabad as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party of China.
Pakistan also recently reiterated its strong support of China’s territorial claims, reaffirming its strong support of one-China policy. “The Pakistan side expressed its "commitment to One-China Policy and support for China on Taiwan, South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet,” as per a joint statement after a meeting between Pakistan PM and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of 2022 Winter Olympics.
Such remarks by PM Khan have been interpreted as an indictment of Pakistan’s overt and excess dependency on China for economic aid and benefits. China is currently implementing over $60 billion worth of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the Islamic nation.
Rights groups such as Amnesty have been constantly alleging the Chinese government of suppressing Uighur Muslims. “It should shock the conscience of humanity that massive numbers of people have been subjected to brainwashing, torture and other degrading treatment in internment camps, while millions more live in fear amid a vast surveillance apparatus,” it said in a report last year.
