On Thursday (January 13), the Foreign Office of Pakistan informed that Prime Minister Imran Khan would attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which is scheduled to take place on February 4 this year. The development comes amidst reports of a diplomatic snub to the mega event by Western countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Denmark.
As per reports, Khan will be going on a State visit to China between February 3 and 5, following an invitation by its Premier Xi Jinping. While briefing the media, Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said that Pakistan and China will discuss the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative and other matters.
It must be mentioned that although athletes from across the world will participate in the event, the dignitaries of the Western countries will remain absent. China has been facing fierce criticism from Human Rights Watch (HRW) over the atrocities committed against the Uyghur Muslims. HRW Executive director Kenneth Roth pointed out that the Communist regime wanted to gloss over its ‘horrible’ record in upholding human rights by organising the Winter Olympics.
In December last year, the Pakistani Foreign Office extended support to China over the hosting of the Winter Olympics. In a statement, it said, “Pakistan opposes any form of politicisation of sports and hopes that all nations would come together in Beijing and afford their athletes the opportunity to compete against the best and showcase their skill.”
Spokesman Iftikar Ahmed had added, “We are confident that despite limitations imposed by Covid-19, the Beijing Winter Olympics would offer a spectacular and colourful gala to sports enthusiasts around the world, including in Pakistan.”
Dilpomatic boycott by Western nations and Chinese response
Imran Khan had decided to visit China at a time when the Communist nation is being held to account for committing gross human rights abuse, especially against the Uyghur Muslims in the restive province of Xinjiang. Amid a bitter trade war between Australia and China, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had in December 2021 announced that his country would diplomatically boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over ‘human rights abuses’.
Besides, USA and Australia, many other countries are considering boycotting and limited representation at the Winter Olympics on the issue of human rights violations and others. The China-Australia relations collapsed last year and Morrison said the decision of Australia was not surprising. He said that human rights abuses in Xinjiang were one of the factors behind the diplomatic boycott.
A spokesperson from China’s embassy in Canberra has retorted saying that some Australian politicians were engaged in political posturing. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa reacted to China facing isolation. “The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are about athletic excellence and global unity. Stop using it as a platform for grandstanding and division,” it said.
Furthermore, the Scandinavian country of Denmark had announced that it would join the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics by not sending an official diplomatic delegation to the sporting event over the nation’s human rights issues.
“It is no secret that we from the Danish side are very concerned about the human rights situation in China. The government has decided that we will not attend the Winter Olympics in China,” Jeppe Kofod, the Foreign Minister of Denmark recently said.
The Torture of Uyghur Muslims
According to a 2017 report by the head of the Institute of Sociology at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, the increasing Muslim population in Xinjiang contributed to increased political risk, poverty and extremism. One of the reasons cited behind their high birth rates was the Islamic belief that the foetus was a gift from God.
However, experts are of the view that it is a strategy of the Communist Party of China (CCP) to strip Uyghurs of their religious and ethnic identity and assimilate them into the dominant Han Chinese ethnicity. While Uyghur Muslims are often subjected to re-educational programs, forced labour, and digital surveillance, their children are indoctrinated in orphanages.
Reportedly, Uyghur Muslims have been the subject of a massive crackdown since 2017. They were held up in prisons for praying, travelling abroad, or even using social media under the pretext of containing ‘ religious extremism’. According to researcher Zenz, two counties and townships have directed authorities to leave no ‘blind spots’, contain illegal births, and decrease fertility levels.
As such officials began hunting for pregnant women and directing ethnic minorities to attend flag-raising ceremonies where they were threatened with detention and dire consequences if they failed to register their children. Associated Press reported that the Chinese government issued notices to reward people who reported illegal childbirth. Following flag-raising ceremonies, women were escorted to special rooms fitted with ultrasound scanners to detect pregnancy or take gynaecology tests.
“The intention may not be to fully eliminate the Uyghur population, but it will sharply diminish their vitality, making them easier to assimilate,” informed Darren Byler, an expert from the University of Colorado. As for Joanne Smith Finley who works at Newcastle University, the draconian measures undertaken by the Chinese government amount to a ‘slow, painful and creeping genocide’.
Pakistan’s continuous reticence on acknowledging human rights abuses of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang
While Pakistan bills itself as the leader of the Islamic ummah, it has been dismissive, and on occasions questioned the authenticity of reports of human rights violations of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. China remains the biggest benefactor to Islamabad, which is teetering on the edge of a financial collapse amidst a foundering economy. As a consequence, the monetary and fiscal benefits of aligning with China has caused Pakistan to turn a blind eye to Beijing’s repressive measures against the Uyghur minorities.
In June 2021, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was taken aback when he was asked about his country’s conspicuous silence on the plight of Uyghurs. Speaking to Jonathan Swan, Khan said, “What… our conversations have been with the Chinese, this is not the case, according to them.” On being told that the evidence was overwhelming, Khan said, “Whatever issues we have with the Chinese, we speak behind closed doors. China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times.”
“When we were really struggling, our economy was struggling, China came to our rescue. So, we respect the way they are…And whatever issues we have, we speak behind closed doors. How come this is such a big issue in the Western world?” the Pakistani Prime Minister asked. He then shrewdly tried to deviate the issue from Uyghur Muslims to Kashmiri Muslims and claimed that it was hypocritical that ‘Kashmir’ is not an issue for the world.
However, this is not the first time that Khan was ill at ease in defending his country’s hypocritical silence on the abject condition of Uyghur Muslims in China. Back in September 2021, feigned ignorance when asked about Pakistan’s uncharacteristic silence on the Uyghur issue. Khan had then tried to dodge the question saying China is Pakistan’s “best friend” and issues like these are not discussed in public between the two countries.
