Pakistan PM Imran Khan coolly dismisses plight of Uyghurs

巴基斯坦總理伊姆蘭冷淡地忽視維吾爾族人的處境

Prime minister shrugs off questions about Xinjiang concentration camps during interview with Axios


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In a recent interview for “Axios on HBO,” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan repeatedly deflected questions about China’s internment of over 1 million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps while simultaneously touting his role as a crusader against Islamophobia in the West.

After reciting the litany of abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims that have been reported in the Xinjiang region, reporter Jonathan Swan asked, “Why are you so outspoken about Islamophobia in Europe and the United States but totally silent about the genocide of Muslims in western China?”

“What our conversations have been with the Chinese... this is not the case, according to them,” the prime minister responded.

“The evidence is just overwhelming,” Swan insisted.

“Whatever issues we have with the Chinese, we speak to them behind closed doors." Khan continued. “China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times.”

The prime minister went on to question why the concentration camps have become such a “big issue” in the West. “How come the people of Kashmir are ignored?” he asked. “It is much more relevant compared to what might be going on with the Uyghurs.”

Swan then asked Khan if he was sickened by having to keep quiet because of the money China is injecting into Pakistan’s economy.

The prime minister responded by enumerating a list of other countries in the Middle East where Muslims face crises, throwing up his hands and saying he prefers to concentrate on “what is happening on my border."

When a visibly astonished Swan interjected that Xinjiang is, in fact, on Pakistan’s border, Khan pivoted back to Kashmir.

A final request by Swan for a statement on whether anything might be amiss in Xinjiang yielded little, with the prime minister once again emphasizing that Pakistan-China relations are a private matter.

Ties between the two countries have long been close, with Pakistan being one of the first countries to recognize the communist government of China in 1951. Pakistan is also the largest buyer of China's arms, accounting for 47 percent of the country's weapons exports.

A crucial part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan maintains a robust trade relationship with its larger neighbor. In 2018, bilateral trade between the nations reached US$18 billion, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.