Pakistan tells China ‘almost all’ Uygur militants eliminated
Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain - in Beijing for Thursday's military parade - says recent 'Zarb-e-Azb' anti-terror operation 'has been successful in eradicating terrorism from our country'
Almost all members of the Uygur militant group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) have been eliminated from Pakistan, the country’s president said on Wednesday during a visit to Beijing.
China blames violent unrest in its far western region of Xinjiang on Islamist separatist groups such as ETIM, who it said wanted to set up an independent state called East Turkestan and have bases in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Many foreign experts, however, have questioned whether ETIM exists as the coherent group that China claims it is.
At a meeting with President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain said a recent anti-terror operation codenamed Zarb-e-Azb “has been successful in eradicating the terrorism from our country”.
Hussain said: “It has also been very helpful in eliminating the ETIM element from our country and I think almost all the ETIM people in our country have been eliminated. Maybe, if they are there, there should be very few.”
China and Pakistan were “iron brothers” and always helped each other “with great zeal”, he added.