Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that he was satisfied with China's denial of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslins in its Xinjiang province. He also backed the one-party system of governance in China and called it a ‘unique system’.
Imran Khan made these remarks while speaking to Chinese news media in Islamabad on Thursday
Rights activist groups have long accused China of grave human rights abuse in its Xinjiang province where a majority of the Uyghur Muslim population resides. Allegations of brainwashing, torture and erasure of cultural identity have been levelled by many human rights organisations.
Imran Khan claims to be an advocate against what he calls 'Islamophobia' in the world. However, his stance on Uyghur Muslims turns totally in the favour of the Chinese as time after again he has backed Beijing and its policies.
“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,” he said while talking to Chinese news media.
“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,” he added.
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Notably, Pakistan has been working with China for years now. It has a strategic relationship with Beijing, which has seen an investment of more than $60bn in the country through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
Khan further denounced the western media and the democratic model of governance. He praised the CPC governing model and lauded its “flexibility”.
“The CPC is a unique model. Up until now, we were told that the best way for societies to improve themselves is the Western system of democracy,” said Khan.
“What the CPC has done is that it has brought this alternative model. And they have actually beaten all Western democracies in the way they have brought up merit in their society.”
“Up until now, the feeling was that electoral democracy is the best way where you get leadership based on merit, and then hold that leadership accountable. But what the CPC has done is that without that electoral democracy it has actually achieved that much better,” he said.
