LAHORE: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan seeks to project himself as a global defender of Islam, but he won’t utter a peep about one of the most egregious persecutions of Muslims: China’s repression of Xinjiang’s Uighurs and its project to Sinicize Islam.
Even the religious parties and groups which are quick to kill Ahmadis, Shias, Christians, and Hindus over fake blasphemy charges are in fact colluding with the state is turning a blind eye to the atrocities on the hapless followers of Islam.
Over a million Uighur Muslims have been detained in prisons for being Muslims. In the last few years, China has forbidden Muslims from keeping beards, wearing veils, holding prayers in public and even observing fast during Ramzan. The detained Muslims are put through indoctrination classes where Islam and Islamic practices are projected as a mental illness that needs to be prised out of their minds.
Pakistan’s hypocritical attitude towards Islam is clear. It is quick to take umbrage at some odd incidents in Europe or some off-the-cuff remarks. But the Chinese calling Islam as `mental disease` is not only ignored but supported by official endorsement and silence.
Although Pakistani authorities arrested a few Chinese traffickers, the incident never became an issue worth protesting either for the government or for the self-proclaimed upholders of Islam.
Similarly, there is hardly any concern for the plight of Uighur Muslims who live and work in Pakistani cities. They have been complaining of persistent harassment from the state agencies but with no help from the government or religious leaders.
The state of Pakistan’s complicity in the Chinese crimes against humanity is established by its official endorsement of the Chinese policy in July this year. Pakistan was one of the 37 countries which sent a joint letter to the UN Human Rights Council supporting the Chinese atrocities with the following remark: “The past three years have seen not a single terrorist attack in Xinjiang and people there enjoy a stronger sense of happiness, fulfillment, and security’’.
The media criticism of Imran Khan on his abject failure as the leader of a country created to uphold Islam has been few and far between.
(Agencies)
Comment