BEIJING: Pakistan has eliminated all members of the Uighur militant
group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from its territory, but must
remain vigilant to ensure they don’t return, the country’s defence minister
said in Beijing on Sunday.
China blames ETIM for carrying out attacks in its far western region of
Xinjiang.
China, Pakistan’s only major ally in the region, has long urged
Islamabad to weed out what it says are militants from Xinjiang, who are holed
up in a lawless tribal belt.
“We believe they’re all
eliminated,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters on the sidelines of a
security forum. “I think there (were) a small number in tribal areas, they’re
all gone or eliminated. There are no more there.”
It is just as much in Pakistan’s interests as China’s to fight Uighur
militants, Asif said, denying there was any difference of opinion between
Beijing and Islamabad on Pakistan’s efforts to tackle the problem.
“The fight against ETIM is our
own fight. It’s not only China’s fight. It’s a joint fight against ETIM,
between Pakistan and China, so there is absolutely no difference of opinion on
the elimination of ETIM from our tribal areas,” he added
“We have to be vigilant for a
long time that this menace, this infection, does not return.”
China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather friends” and their close
ties have been underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbour,
India, and a desire to hedge against US influence across the region.
China and Pakistan are getting ready to finalise a deal for China to
sell eight submarines to Pakistan, Asif said, in what could be one of China’s
largest overseas weapons sales once it is signed.
“It’s moving smoothly, it’s going
ahead,” he said. “We are at the final stage. I think it won’t take very long.”
■ Reuters
