The decree is a part of the security drill following deadly unrest witnessed this year in the Muslim majority Uighur belt of North-west Xinjiang province that borders Gilgit-Baltistan region of Kashmir under Pakistan occupation. Muslim extremists, operating from the Pakistan soil have been mounting attacks on the Chinese soft targets in particular.
On May 22 four people threw bombs at a vegetable market in Urumqi killing 43 people. The attackers also perished in what was no more than a suicide mission.
On June 22, police in Kashgar in the far west said they killed 13 assailants who drove into a police building and set off explosives, injuring three officers. There were two other attacks during this period that targetted railway stations.
The paranoia reached such a stage that in the city of Bole, retired teachers from the Wutubulage Middle School are called in to stand guard at mosques and prevent students from entering
The Moyu Weather Bureau in the Hotan area asked its Muslim employees, both active and retired to sign a letter promising not to fast.
China discouraging fasting for Uighur Muslims is not a sudden development though it appears to have adopted a mission mode this year.
Though by 2008 itself, the US Human Rights Report said the Chinese authorities were “restricting State employees from observance of Ramazan and prohibiting closure of restaurants during periods of fasting”, the anti-Ramazan fast campaign became pronounced only two years ago.
It was pump primed under the health garb. The move is motivated by health concerns, the government said. A report carried on August 3, 2012 by the state-run Global Times said authorities in Xinjiang “encourage people to eat properly for study and work but don’t force anyone to eat during Ramazan.”
Interestingly, the authorities have been reluctant to “secularize” Muslim minority though they have been encouraging a systematic demographic change in Xinjiang which is home to the traditionally Muslim Uyghur ethnic group. The influx of China’s Han majority has led to simmering resentment among Uyghurs and the region has witnessed sporadic outbreak of violence.
Rioting in July 2009 left nearly 200 people dead in Urumqi alone, and gave an impetus to separatist sentiment with some Uyghurs advocating armed rebellion.
More restrictions on practice of Islam and campaign against Islamic schools became pronounced since then.
According to Dru Gladney, a professor of anthropology at Pomona College in California and an expert on China’s Muslim minorities, the campaign against Ramazan fast seems a much more public and concerted effort than in previous years.
“In some cases Communist Party leaders are delivering food to village elders to try to get them to break their fast”, he said, adding that all this makes the Uyghurs angry at the party “for not honouring their religious customs”.
Surprisingly, Pakistan has made no comment on the Chinese ban on Ramazan fasting.
“Pakistan is staying clear of latest directives by the Chinese Communist Party which has placed restrictions on fasting in the Chinese Muslim province of Xinjiang.”, Mariana Baabar reported in The News International, on July 6, 2014
Islamabad is Beijing’s closest ally, It indeed considers Beijing as all –weather friend. So, it is natural to expect it exercise its influence to help fellow Uyghur Muslims to observe traditional month long fasting.
This is all the more normal expectation because Pakistan is known to raise its voice in support of Muslims around the globe, particularly its traditional rival, India.
Yet another reason for Pakistan to rally behind Uyghur Muslims is the presence of Uyghur separatist militants under the patronage of local Taliban militants in the North Waziristan, and the campaigns they have been mounting on Xinjiang using the Chinese built highway as their launch pad.
Mariana Baabar’s dispatch does not delve deep into the issue; it merely notes that it is indeed a “delicate and tricky issue for Islamabad”.
This is a major test for Pakistan – whether to ignore or comment on the Chinese government ban. Technically the Ramazan fast ban is an internal matter of China; since China has a policy of non-interference in Pakistan affairs, Pakistan also must tow the same line, argues Mariana Baabar .
But the fact of the matter is that this policy of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs has not come in the way of discussing the Uyghur militancy issue behind closed doors.
What is more the Chinese leadership has of late been very vocal in ticking off Pakistan on Uyghur issue.
Only a few days ago, the administration of Xinjiang publicly accused Pakistan of harbouring Uyghur militants and said they have been travelling Pakistan’s Fata areas to strike inside Xinjiang.
