East Turkistan condemns Pakistan’s ‘support’ for China’s ongoing Uyghur genocide

Washington [US], July 21 (ANI): East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) condemned Pakistan for not breaking free from its “treacherous alliance” with China on the ongoing Uyghur genocide.

“In an appalling display of moral bankruptcy, a Pakistani religious delegation, representing the Council of Islamic Ideology, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, and Islami Tehreek Pakistan, recently visited Chinese-Occupied East Turkistan. Their visit aimed to voice unwavering support for China’s atrocious actions in East Turkistan and foster future China-Pakistan cooperation, sparking outrage within the East Turkistani diaspora,” a press release by East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) stated on Thursday.

“The East Turkistan Government in Exile vehemently condemns this reprehensible act, denouncing Pakistan’s shameful hypocrisy and complicity in endorsing China’s ruthless campaign of colonization, genocide, and occupation in East Turkistan,” the release stated further.

Prime Minister Salih Hudayar was quoted as saying in the release, “The world witnesses Pakistan’s moral bankruptcy as it stands by China’s genocidal actions. Pakistan must break free from its treacherous alliance and unequivocally condemn China’s crimes in Occupied East Turkistan.”

The meeting, as reported by Chinese state mouthpieces the Xinjiang Daily and the Global Times, showcased the presence of influential Pakistani religious leaders, including Council of Islamic Ideology’s Chairman Qibla Ayaz, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Deputy Amir of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, and Maulana Tayyab Tahir, Amir of Islami Tehreek Pakistan.

The ETGE press release added, “The Pakistani delegation callously praised China’s colonial and genocidal ethnic and religious policies in East Turkistan while conveniently ignoring the horrifying genocide, Islamophobia, and grave human rights abuses inflicted upon the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim Turkic populations of East Turkistan.”

“This endorsement not only defies justice and humanity but also betrays the very teachings and principles of Islam, as much of the world stands united against China’s flagrant violations of human rights and religious freedom in East Turkistan,” it added.

The release said since 2014, China has been committing genocide against Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan. The Chinese government has imprisoned millions of Uyghurs under the guise of “counter-terrorism and counter-extremism,” forcing them to disavow their ethnic, national, and religious-Islamic identities and subjecting them to slave labour, forced sterilization, and organ harvesting.

“The Chinese government has destroyed over 16,000 mosques in East Turkistan, banned Islamic holidays, many Muslim names, and the Islamic greeting “Assalam Aleykum,” the ETGE release said.

East Turkistan Government in Exile president Ghulam Yaghma, was quoted in the release as saying, “Pakistan’s religious delegation’s endorsement of China’s atrocities in East Turkistan is a despicable betrayal, not only to the suffering Uyghurs and all East Turkistani Muslims but also to the Islamic faith itself.”

The release added, “Pakistan’s opportunistic relationship with China has repeatedly compromised its supposed commitment to protecting Muslim human rights and promoting justice. By willingly turning a blind eye to China’s brutal suppression of the Uyghurs, Pakistan has become an accomplice to this humanitarian catastrophe, stained by the blood of innocent lives.”

“As many nations united to condemn China’s ongoing in East Turkistan, Pakistan stands at a crossroads – a choice between complicity in genocide and betrayal of the Islamic faith or the embrace of humanity and justice,” it said.

“The East Turkistani people demand that Pakistan discard its shameful allegiance to China and stand in solidarity with the oppressed Muslims of Occupied East Turkistan,” it added.

“Pakistan must shed its hypocritical cloak and join the global community in demanding an immediate cessation of China’s monstrous actions in Occupied East Turkistan. We call on Pakistan to uphold the true principles of Islam, prioritize humanity over economic and political interests, and cease its support for China’s genocidal and anti-Islamic campaign in East Turkistan,” said Abdullah Khoja, the East Turkistan Government in Exile’s minister of Religious Affairs.

According to East-Turkistan.net, East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE), the Government in Exile of the Republic of East Turkistan, is the democratically elected official body representing East Turkistan and its people.

On December 22, 1949, the People’s Republic of China overthrew the independent East Turkistan Republic, leading many East Turkistanis including senior military and government officials to flee.

The East Turkistan Government in Exile was formally established on September 14, 2004, as an official government in exile in Washington, DC, by prominent Uyghur, Kazakh and other East Turkistani independence leaders representing over a dozen organizations from across the East Turkistani / Uyghur diaspora following the dissolution of the East Turkistan National Congress (ETNC).

The East Turkistan Government in Exile is a democratic body with a representative Parliament. The primary leaders — President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker (Chair) of Parliament, and Deputy Speaker (Chair) of Parliament — are democratically elected by the Parliament members from all over the East Turkistani diaspora in the General Assembly.