In a recent interview, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan blatantly refused to comment on the treatment of Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China.
He also called on the United States to find a political settlement to its war in Afghanistan before withdrawing from the troops.
Besides, Mr Khan ruled out hosting any US military bases on Pakistan’s territory. The Pak PM was speaking in an interview to US news platform Axios.
Considering the close ties of the two countries China and Pakistan, Mr Khan was questioned about his silence on the atrocities on Uighur Muslims in China. Since Imran Khan has been quite vocal about other global issues and Islamophobia in the West, in particular, his reluctance seemed obvious.
The Pak PM was quick to answer to that question reiterating that he is more concerned about what is happening at the border of his own country.
In a wide-ranging interview, Pakistani PM Imran Khan repeated his call for the US to mediate on Kashmir issue.
His response on Uighurs issue was marked by clear reluctance though.
Moreover, the journalist, Jonathan Swan of Axio asked about the public letter that he wrote about Islamophobia?
The journalist also touched upon the hot topic of the Chinese atrocities on Uighurs in the interview.
Pak PM Imran Khan has once again invited trouble with his comments on sexual violence.
In the interview, Imran Khan suggests that avoiding temptation in society is the way to prevent sexual violence against women. Not only this, but he also added that “If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact on the men unless they are robots. It’s common sense.”
Imran Khan’s reluctance on Uighurs in China
“What our conversations have been with Chinese, this is not the case,” Khan said in response. “Whatever issues we have with Chinese, we speak to them behind closed doors. China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times. China came to the rescue when our economy was struggling,” Mr Khan added.
Besides, Imran Khan in the times of changing balance of power and shifts in world economies is also changing his gears accordingly. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
He is now garbing Pakistan’s or his reluctance to comment on Uighurs by saying that he is more concerned with what is going on in his own nation. “I look around the world, what is happening in Palestine and Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan. Am I going to start talking about everything? I concentrate on what is happening on my border in my country,” he said.
Imran Khan, however, in the interview, asserts that Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine was simply as a deterrent, to protect ourselves.
On the other hand, Khan who has championed the cause of human rights, is now silent on the reports about the mistreatment of Uighurs by the Chinese government.
But Beijing remains in a denial mode calling these baseless allegations.
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