Not wanting to disappoint their ‘only’ friend, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accepted that they account only for the ‘Chinese version’ pertaining to the treatment of Uyghur Muslims due to the ‘proximity’.
As the western world has gone hammers and tongs against China for persecuting the ethnic minority of Uyghur Muslims, Pakistan too has been facing the brunt of maintaining a stoic silence over the issue.
Unveiling Pakistan’s hypocrisy, the global media has been hounding Khan for refusing to acknowledge Beijing’s atrocities in the region against Uyghurs while crying foul on the condition of Muslims in India, and crying Islamophobia against nations over trivial issues. Re-iterating their stand, Khan in a quote to the Dawn newspaper said, “Because of our extreme proximity and relationship with China, we actually accept the Chinese version.”
Khan, while speaking to Chinese journalists as Beijing marked the centenary of the ruling Communist Party, insisted that the Chinese version of Uyghurs was completely different from what is being portrayed in Western media.
Taking a submissive stance, “It is hypocritical. There are much worse human rights violations taking place in other parts of the world… But Western media hardly comment on this,” Khan shielded its all-weather friend while lashing out at Western media for blowing the Uyghur’s condition and Hong Kong issue out of proportion.
Imran Khan also praised the Chinese Communist Party, saying that until now, the world was told that the bast way for societies to improve is through Western democracy, but CCP has introduced an alternative model and they have beaten all Western democracies. Khan insisted that the CCP model of governance is best to highlight the merits in society.
Calling China the only country that stood by Pakistan whenever the country has faced trouble, politically or internationally, Khan clarified that this relationship had nothing to do with India. “Our relationship is a bilateral relationship. It is extremely strong,” Khan said reassuring Pakistan’s strong ties with China.
Many international journalists have questioned Imran Khan’s hypocrisy
In an interview with Jonathan Swan in June, the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was seen making excuses when quizzed about his silence on the genocide committed against Uyghur Muslims in neighboring China.
Being taken aback by the question of relentless persecution of Uyghur Muslims, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in a desperate bid to defend their all-weather friend, Imran Khan alleged, “What… our conversations have been with the Chinese, this is not the case, according to them.” On being told that the evidence was overwhelming, Khan said, “Whatever issues we have with the Chinese, we speak behind closed doors. China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times.”
In fact, Khan, tried to divert the issue by bringing in the Kashmir issue, claiming that the world should instead focus on the ‘human rights violations’ in Kashmir.
‘We have economic ties with China, they are good neighbours’: Imran Khan
In an exclusive interview to Canada’s CBC News on June 12, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan dodged the question pertaining to China’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims by saying it is a ‘good neighbor.’ Khan, when specifically asked about the genocide of Uyghur Muslims, said, “We have economic ties with China, China is our neighbor. They’ve been very good to us in our most difficult times.” He was talking to CBC’s Rosemary Barton in a recent interview.
When asked whether or not the persecution of Muslims in China is of concern, Khan informed, “If we have concerns we talk about them behind closed doors.”
Pakistan’s pandering of Taliban
The Pakistan government’s strong denial of the Uyghur genocide comes at the backdrop of overt support to the Taliban. Though Pakistan’s support to the Taliban has long been an ‘open secret for the rest of the world, in recent times, the government of Pakistan has become more vocal. In a recent interview, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi even went so far as to give the Taliban a clean chit, and blame the current Afghanistan government for the killings and violence in Afghanistan.
Uyghur detention camps run by China
The Xinjiang autonomous region in China is facing the worst kind of cultural and ethnic genocide. There is a long history of dissonance between the indigenous ethnic Uyghur and Chinese authorities. Chinese authorities have been running ‘re-education’ camps where millions of Uyghurs are made to denounce their ways of life, religious beliefs and practices.
China is facing criticism and worldwide condemnation over its unkind and harsh treatment of the Uyghur Muslims.
However, China has aggressively refuted allegations made by the Western countries on its daunting persecution of the Muslim minority and claim it to be a conspiracy against the nation.