Of Imran Khan's servility and Chinese belligerence

Raju Korti

Xi addressing the Communist Party centenary.

While the Chinese President Xi Jinping has been flexing his muscles to lend a melodramatic touch to the centenary celebrations of the Communist Party and the world watching in mild amusement, he has a condescending but helpless admirer in Imran Khan. The Pakistan prime minister has justified the common Indian line Majboori ka naam Mahatma Gandhi by 'accepting' the Chinese version of how it treats ethnic Uighur Muslims. There are more than 12 million Uighurs living a lowly life in Xinjiang.

On a sticky wicket in his own country, Khan has no other option but to toe the Chinese line. It is a no brainer that he is forced to franchise what the Chinese are doing to the sizable chunk of Uighur Muslim population being subjected to ethnic cleansing in southern Xinjiang. The Amnesty International has said the Uighur Muslims whose roots are Turkish, are living in a "dystopian hellscape". So much so that while being systematically eliminated, they are not even allowed to practice Islam and speak their mother tongue. For that matter, China's utter disdain for Muslims has been well documented, but Khan doesn't bat an eyelid, incommoded  as his country is under China's obligation. China has constantly denied the allegations of genocide in Xinjiang camps where the Uighurs have been languishing. But both China and Pakistan know exactly what's happening and both are lying to their teeth.   

Khan disguises his helplessness with a political expediency that he can do nothing about. It is a measure of his crooked bent of mind that instead he chose to divert the human rights abuse issue to Pakistan's pet peeve Kashmir. In a statement clearly meant to appease the Chinese, he says, "Islamabad accepts 'Chinese version' of how it treats Uighur Muslims because of its extreme proximity and relationship with Beijing." While in the past, China has snubbed Pakistan several times on the issue of providing economic aid, it is not clear how much the latter has benefited from the arms aid.

There is not much to establish that Pakistan, partitioned on religion and now an Islamic state run on Shariah, has concern for Muslims across the world unless there is a over-riding political reason. It does not shed tears for Muslims in India as they know they are better off in India than the rickety country. As Xi spoke about the "alternative model" that has beaten all Western democracies, Khan quickly latched on to the Western media saying it was hypocritical of them to talk only about the Chinese situation. The Chinese must be chuckling that they are now licensed to intensify their state-orchestrated campaign against the Uighurs without pretensions.

In their persecution, the Uighurs suffer unlivable conditions, torture, forced sterilizations, coercive birth prevention and sexual violence inside the camps and are subjected to institutionalized enslavement. They will be wiped out sooner than later. There is no way the issue can be taken to the International Court of Justice as China does not recognize its authority or jurisdiction. China has also denied foreign observers access to Xinjiang. It has lost on Khan -- or that is what he pretends to -- China's track record of targeting Muslim religious figures and banning religious practices as well as destroying mosques and tombs. Khan chooses to ignore all this and instead says the people of China have a special place in the hearts of Pakistanis.

I do not think Pakistan can get any tangible benefits from China's status as world's largest economy with largest foreign exchanges. No country can become an ally of China. Xi's model is characterized by an authoritarian political structure and state driven capitalism. I do not find it altogether surprising that the mild demeanored Xi arrogated to himself for lifetime all the powers by usurping the Communist Party of China (CPC) and People's Liberation Army (PLA). On April 8, 2020, I wrote: "As the central figure of the fifth generation of leadership of the People's Republic, Xi has significantly centralized institutional power by taking on a wide range of leadership positions. His political thoughts have been written into the party and state constitutions and his tenure has witnessed significant increase of censorship, mass surveillance and deterioration of human rights.

The least Khan could have done was to maintain a diplomatic silence when Xi was playing to the gallery addressing a captive audience at the CPC's centenary. The resolve in (henceforth) not allowing Pakistan's soil to be used by the American troops was nowhere in evidence. Khan badly needs better political advisors but then that is a tall order given that the entire country survives and sustains only on the Kashmir obsession.

On a lighter note, Khan's (helpless) appeasement of the Chinese reminds me of a Mukesh song "Jo tumko ho pasand wohi baat karenge, tum din ko agar raat kaho raat kahenge...." It also suits his nasal tone.