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 says it backs Gaza peace plan, hopes next phase leads to Palestinian state
- Foreign Office says it is not concerned about who joins or stays out of the Abraham Accords
- Pakistan reaffirms rejection of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, warns of regional instability
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Thursday it supported the Gaza peace plan endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, expressing hope its next phase would stabilize the situation in the war-ravaged territory, scale up humanitarian assistance and lead to an independent Palestinian state.
The United States said on Wednesday it was moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said in a post on X that the second phase will establish “a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza” and mark the beginning of “the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel.”
Commenting on the development, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan had taken note of the announcement.
“We have seen this social media post about the next phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and we express the hope that these steps will lead to further stabilization of the situation, and upscaling the humanitarian assistance and end of the sacrifices of the people,” he said while addressing his weekly news conference.
Andrabi said Pakistan had been engaged in the Gaza peace effort as part of a group of Arab and Islamic countries since the initiative was presented by the US president and supported both the plan and the UN Security Council resolution endorsing it.
“We also hope that these efforts will lead to a credible time bound, political process consistent with international legitimacy and relevant UN resolutions to establish an independent, sovereign, contiguous state of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.
Asked about Pakistan’s position on the Abraham Accords, a series of US-brokered agreements normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states, Andrabi said Islamabad’s stance remained unchanged.
“Our position with respect to it is that there are certain benchmarks that have to be achieved ... And [these relate do] a viable, contiguous state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
He said Pakistan did not judge other countries’ choices on the accords.
“We are not concerned about who does or who does not join the Abraham Accords,” he said.
SOMALILAND ISSUE
Earlier in his opening remarks, Andrabi reiterated Pakistan’s rejection of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway region of Somalia, calling the move illegal and warning it could destabilize the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but is not recognized by the United Nations or the African Union.
Israel’s recent steps to recognize the territory have drawn criticism from Somalia and several Muslim-majority countries.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar raised the issue during the 22nd Extraordinary Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers held in Jeddah on Jan. 10.
“In his address, the DPM-FM strongly condemned the illegal and unlawful recognition by Israel of the Somaliland region, as well as subsequent unwarranted and highly provocative visits of Israeli officials to the territory,” the Foreign Office spokesman said.
“He termed such acts as political aggression and a direct assault on Somalia’s internationally recognized borders, setting a perilous precedent and threatening peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea region, and beyond.”
Andrabi said Dar also addressed the Palestinian issue during the session, rejecting proposals for the displacement of Palestinians and reaffirming Pakistan’s long-standing support for a two-state solution.
