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Chinese, Pak troops launch joint patrol along PoK border
BEIJING: Chinese and Pakistani troops are jointly patrolling a stretch of the border connecting Pakistan-occupied Kashmir ( PoK) and Xinjiang against the backdrop
BEIJING: Chinese and Pakistani troops are jointly patrolling a stretch of the border connecting Pakistan-occupied Kashmir ( PoK) and Xinjiang against the backdrop of reports that more than 100 Uyghurs from the region have joined the Islamic State (IS).
China’s state media reported the joint patrolling on Thursday, with the website of People’s Daily, the Communist Party of China’s mouthpiece, publishing dozens of photos of armed Chinese and Pakistani troops marching along the border and conducting drills.
There was no report accompanying the photos and it could not immediately be ascertained whether such patrolling was being done for the first time, or the activity was being reported for the first time.
The caption with the photos read: “A frontier defence regiment of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) in Xinjiang, along with a border police force from Pakistan, carry out (sic) a joint patrol along the China-Pakistan border.”
What was referred to as the “China-Pakistan border” is considered by New Delhi as the frontier of PoK, officially an integral part of India.
The joint patrolling comes at a time when Washington-based think tank New American Foundation has said that 114 men from Xinjiang were among thousands of foreign fighters recruited by the IS.
It added that “China’s control over religious activities in northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region could be a push factor driving people to leave the country and look elsewhere for a sense of belonging”.
Quoting New American Foundation, state media said: “Of the more than 3,500 foreigners recruited to join ISIS, the report stated that 114 came from Xinjiang, making the region the fifth largest contributor. Xinjiang followed Saudi Arabia and Tunisia on the list.”
Pakistan has repeatedly dismissed reports of the presence of Chinese troops in PoK. These reports had suggested the troops were deployed in the region to protect infrastructure projects funded by China and Chinese personnel working on them.
