China's atrocities get ignored by PM Imran Khan in his UNGA speech

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Friday in a speech that lasted more than 40 minutes, where he accused the Indian government of committing crimes against Muslims, but left out speaking about the atrocities committed by its ally, China, on minorities.

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Different outlook

In the speech, he mentioned how, when the curfew in Jammu and Kashmir is lifted, there will be a bloodbath. India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the other hand, did not mention Pakistan in his speech even once. Imran Khan's speech was focused on Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the revocation of Article 370, and what he believes will be the mindset of the residents of Kashmir currently. He also said that if the tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries continue, they will be heading to a war-like situation. He said, "When a nuclear-armed country fights to the end, it will have consequences far beyond the borders. It will have consequences for the world." Clarifying his remarks on war, he later said that, "That’s not a threat. It’s a fair worry. Where are we headed?”

However, Imran Khan did not mention the atrocities committed by its ally China on religious minorities, which are globally known and are highlighted gravely in a recently published report. China has been accused of killing and selling organs to oppress religious and ethnic minorities on an industrial scale. A statement by the China Tribunal at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stated that, "Considered all available evidence and concluded that forced organ harvesting from prisoners, including the religious and ethnic minorities of Falun Gong and Uighur had been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale, and it continues today." The statement was made by Hamid Sabi, a senior lawyer. China has been detaining more than a million Uighurs in the northwestern Xinjiang province. 

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US calls out the hypocrisy

The United States called out the hypocrisy of Pakistan and it's concern with atrocities on minorities. Alice Wells, the US Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, when asked about Khan's statements on the alleged atrocities by the Indian government on minorities said, "I would like to see the same level of concern expressed also about Muslims who are being detained in western China, literally in concentration-like conditions. And so, being concerned about the human rights of Muslims does extend more broadly than Kashmir, and you’ve seen the administration very involved here during the UN General Assembly and trying to shine a light on the horrific conditions that continue to exist for Muslims throughout China.”

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