China treats minorities as equals, says top Pakistani cleric

Peshawar: A top Pakistani cleric has said that Chinese government treated the minorities as equals and rejected western propagandas in this regard.

Chairman of the Ruet-e-Hilal (moon sighting) Committee and Khatib (prayer leader) of the historic Badshahi (royal) Masjid Lahore, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad visited China Window, a Chinese Cultural Center in this capital city of the Khyber Pakhtunkhaw province. Other prominent clerics Maulana Abdul Ghafoor and Malik Tariq Awan also accompanied him on the occasion.

Maulana Azad said that the way all minorities, including Muslims were being taken care of in China was “commendable” and “negative propaganda by the Western media in this regard is misleading.”

Speaking to the journalists, he said that the Muslims of Xinjiang had an important role in the development of China. “(National poet) Allama Iqbal also mentioned Kashgar in his poetry and he I think that Xinjiang province is also related to tourism and culture,” he said.

To a question, he said that the Western media was presenting a wrong picture about Chinese Muslims. People from China say that Muslims have all rights, mosques are inhabited and Chinese Muslims are very happy and living the best life, he added.

Maulana Azad hoped that a delegation of Pakistani scholars would soon visit Xinjiang to meet the Muslims in person. He said that Pakistan-China friendship was eternal and the people of both the countries were proud of it.

He said that the relationship between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Xinjiang was also strong while trade between Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashgar will have a significant impact on the region. The people of Pakistan will achieve economic growth through the CPEC project and the region was happy.

The cleric said through China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) the region would enter a new era of development. The Chairman of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee also lauded the China Window in Peshawar and through this way the center would also highlight cooperation between Pak-China in various sectors.

Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, Chairman Ruet Hilal Committee and Khatib of the historic Badshahi Masjid Lahore, visited various galleries of China Window and was briefed about the overall cooperation going on between Pakistan and China.