Washington: Severely condemning Pakistan’s alignment with China in the “ongoing genocide in Occupied East Turkistan”, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) on Saturday expressed grave concern over Pakistani Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir’s visit to the United States.
ETGE stated that American officials must recognise Pakistan’s role in the ongoing genocide, not as a neutral observer, but as a strategic facilitator of Chinese imperialism and repression.
“The Chinese Communist regime’s campaign of genocide in Occupied East Turkistan would not be possible without the silence, and in Pakistan’s case, the cooperation, of governments willing to trade morality for strategic partnership,” said ETGE President Mamtimin Ala.
The ETGE spotlighted destruction of Islam in East Turkistan, citing that thousands of mosques have been demolished, millions of Qurans and Islamic texts have been burned, and religious practices criminalised in the region. It stated that rather than confronting, Pakistan has actively aligned itself with the “atheist” Chinese communist regime responsible for these atrocities.
“Despite claiming to defend the rights of Muslims globally, Pakistan has betrayed Uyghur and other Turkic predominantly Muslim peoples of East Turkistan by deporting Uyghur refugees, suppressing Uyghur voices domestically, and defending China’s actions at the UN and other multilateral forums, including at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,” the ETGE mentioned.
“Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party-state has implemented a systematic campaign of genocide, forced sterilization, mass internment, cultural eradication, surveillance, and forced labour against the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan. This campaign, officially recognised as genocide by the US government, has been diplomatically supported, politically defended, and quietly enabled by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” it further added.
The ETGE also asserted that the Pakistani military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have deepened cooperation with China’s Ministry of State Security and PLA intelligence, sharing information, conducting joint training, and aligning along Belt and Road infrastructure, including corridors that run through strategically sensitive, US-watched zones.
The government in exile therefore urged the US to move beyond moral condemnation and adopt clear, enforceable policy responses, including suspension of US military aid and sales to Pakistan until it ceases cooperation with Chinese military and intelligence, visa bans and Magnitsky-style sanctions (economic sanctions) against Pakistani officials, legislative hearings and investigations into Pakistan’s role in China’s global campaign of repression and compartmentalise intelligence sharing with Pakistan.
“Pakistan has betrayed the Muslims of Occupied East Turkistan by actively aiding China’s genocidal colonial project in East Turkistan,” said Salih Hudayar, ETGE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security.
“We urge the United States to confront Pakistan’s complicity and end Pakistan’s hypocrisy that allows genocide to continue behind closed doors,” he stated.
The ETGE called on the international community to recognise the East Turkistani people’s inalienable right to national independence. The government in exile further stated that it stands ready to cooperate with the US and allied nations to counter China’s imperialist ambitions and to advance both global security and the East Turkistani people’s rightful struggle to reclaim their freedom, independence, and national sovereignty.
“The only sustainable way to prevent further atrocities and secure peace in the Eurasian region is through the full dismantling of China’s colonial and genocidal system, and the restoration of an independent East Turkistan. The East Turkistan Government in Exile remains committed to exposing all actors, state and non-state, who contribute to the ongoing genocide and repression of our people,” it stated.
(IANS)
