Saturday, January 17, 2004
Now, China hands over list of terrorists to Pakistan
Press Trust of India Islamabad, January 17
In a significant move, China, the strategic ally of Pakistan has forwarded a list of Chinese terrorists and outfits linked to Al-Qaeda to Pakistan and asked Islamabad to initiate action against these groups.
The Chinese government has sent Islamabad a list and profile of terrorists and terrorist organisations of concern to the Government of China recently and wants them investigated by Pakistan, local newspaper Daily Times quoted Pakistan officials as saying. "The list of the first batch of identified eastern Turkistan's terrorist organisations and profiles of terrorists compiled by the Ministry of Public Security, China on December 15, 2003, has been sent through diplomatic channels to Pakistan, with a request to forward the list to the departments concerned for investigation," the officials said.
The Chinese concerns were focused more on two terrorist outfits, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Eastern Turkistan Liberation organization (ETLO) as well as terrorists attached to these organisations, which operated in the Chinese Muslim dominated Xinjiang province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
China also alleged these organisations and terrorists were well connected to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda outfits and received training as well as funding.
The Eastern Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO) is also known as the Eastern Turkistan National Party. It is said to be working for the founding of an Eastern Turkistan State in Xinjiang, China, by means of violence and terror. Its headquarters is in Istanbul. The founder of the organisation is Muhametemin Hazret and its main leaders include Kanat, Dolqun Isa and Ubul Kasimund China have been cooperating for a long time in the field of counter-terrorism. But they have intensified their efforts after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
The Foreign as well as Interior Ministers of the two countries met in 2002 and discussed counter-terrorism issues. Recently, when President General Musharraf visited China, an extradition treaty was signed between the two countries, policy towards the domestic and foreign militant groups came when China took up issue of the activities of Islamic militant groups, specially that of the Chinese variety, directly with Musharraf during his visit to Beijing few months ago.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.