ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday defended its close ally China against a growing outcry over Muslims who are being detained by Chinese authorities, saying the issue was being “sensationalized” by foreign media.
Numerous extrajudicial detention centers have been set up in China’s vast, troubled Xinjiang region, holding as many as one million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, according to estimates cited by a UN panel.
Among them are believed to be dozens of women who married men from neighboring Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan, where people regularly cross the border into China for trade.
“Some section of foreign media are trying to sensationalize the matter by spreading false information,” Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, told reporters at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.
“As per Chinese authorities, out of 44 women, six are already in Pakistan. Four have been convicted on various charges, three are under investigations, eight are undergoing voluntary training. Twenty-three women 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 pouring into the country as a “game changer.”
Beijing has also upgraded the treacherous mountain road connecting Gilgit-Baltistan to Xinjiang.
But China has had difficulty reconciling its desire for development with fears that Uighur separatists will import violence from Pakistan.
Chinese authorities have long linked their crackdown on Xinjiang’s Muslims to international counter-terrorism efforts, arguing that separatists are bent on joining foreign extremists like Al-Qaeda.
They describe the camps as “vocational education centers” for people who appear to be drawn toward Islamist extremism and separatism.
But human rights activists say members of China’s Muslim minorities are being held involuntarily for transgressions such as wearing long beards and face veils, and that the region has become a police state.
Faisal said his ministry and Chinese authorities will continue to coordinate on this matter.
“The Chinese authorities have also offered to arrange visits to Xinjiang of the families of the convicted women,” said Faisal.
Pakistan says outcry over China detention camps ‘sensationalized’
Pakistan says outcry over China detention camps ‘sensationalized’
- Media reports claim China has set up numerous extrajudicial detention centers for Muslims
- Pakistan accuses foreign media of spreading false information on China
Pakistan nears $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons, jets to Sudan
- Deal may include drones, air defense systems and Karakoram-8 aircraft, with possible JF-17 fighters
- The sale is expected to bolster Sudan’s army in the ongoing civil war with the Rapid Support Forces
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is in the final phases of striking a $1.5-billion deal to supply weapons and jets to Sudan, a former top air force official and three sources said, promising a major boost for Sudan’s army, battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Their conflict has stoked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis for more than 2-1/2 years, drawing in myriad foreign interests, and threatening to fragment the strategic Red Sea country, a major gold producer.
The deal with Pakistan encompasses 10 Karakoram-8 light attack aircraft, more than 200 drones for scouting and kamikaze attacks, and advanced air defense systems, said two of the three sources with knowledge of the matter, who all sought anonymity.
It was a “done deal,” said Aamir Masood, a retired Pakistani air marshal who continues to be briefed on air force matters.
Besides the Karakoram-8 jets, it includes Super Mushshak training aircraft, and perhaps some coveted JF-17 fighters developed jointly with China and produced in Pakistan, he added, without giving figures or a delivery schedule.
Pakistan’s military and its defense ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for Sudan’s army did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.
Assistance from Pakistan, especially drones and jets, could help Sudan’s army regain the air supremacy it had toward the start of its war with the RSF, which has increasingly used drones to gain territory, eroding the army’s position.
PAKISTAN’S DEFENSE AMBITIONS
The deal is another feather in the cap for Pakistan’s growing defense sector, which has drawn growing interest and investment, particularly since its jets were deployed in a conflict with India last year.
Last month, Islamabad struck a weapons deal worth more than $4 billion with the Libyan National Army, officials said, for one of the South Asian nation’s largest arms sales, which includes JF-17 fighter jets and training aircraft.
Pakistan has also held talks with Bangladesh on a defense deal that could includes the Super Mushshak training jets and JF-17s, as ties improve ties with Dhaka.
The government sees Pakistan’s burgeoning industry as a catalyst to secure long-term economic stability.
Pakistan is now in a $7-billion IMF program, following a short-term deal to avert a sovereign default in 2023. It won IMF support after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies provided financial and deposit rollovers.
