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| Islamabad faces awkward questions by Beijing | | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, JUNE 26: Continuing cordiality and warm relations between China and Pakistan notwithstanding, Beijing has confronted Islamabad with a set of inconvenient questions on the rising Islamist extremisim. This, precisely, follows the abduction in Islamabad of Chinese expatriates by Muslim religious students.
According to intelligence reports, the rise of extremisim in the Chinese province of Xinjiang (previously known as Sinkiang) and the adduction of Shinese expatriates by religious students in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad dominated the four-day Sino-Pakistan talks in Beijing. A Pakistani delegation, headed by the Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, flew to the Chinese capital on Sunday for "crucial" talks.
The visit, which was delayed when Jamia Hafsa students kidnapped six Chinese women and a man, was approved following the release of the abductees. The vigilante brigade of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa kidnapped six female Chinese expatriates and accused them of running a brothel in an upmarket area disguised as a beauty parlour and massage centre.
The expatriates were detained for more than 24 hours inside the seminary. They were later freed as a result of successful negotiations between the seminary's militant administration and Pakistani gov authorities. But the Chinese women were warned not to indulge in immoral activities.
Sherpao, prior to his departure, made it public that the issue of Xinjiang was expected to be discussed during a meeting of the Joint Working Group, adding Pakistan would also strike a deal with China to buy security equipment. Intelligence reports, on the other hand, claimed that the security bosses of Chinaand Pakistan had initiated discussion on a list of 22 militants wanted by Beijing. These alleged militants belong to the Islamic Movement of East Turkmenistan, which is fighting for the separation of Xinjiang province.
China has given Pakistan a list of militants who might be hiding in the volatile tribal region and conveyed its reservations to Islamabad over the involvement of some 'hidden hands' in the rebel movement's affairs. China had earlier asked Pakistan to bilaterally explore these 'hidden hands' as the movement was a major source behind the unrest in Xinjiang.
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