Chinese media highlights Pak angle, seeks action on terror

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China's official media today prominently highlighted the Kashgar government's statement indicting Pakistan-trained militants in violence in the city, while demanding stern action to deal with terrorism.

For the first time, China blamed Uygur 'militants' trained in Pakistan for the deadly violence in its restive Xinjiang province which left at least 22 people dead in the last two days.

Xinjiang shares a border with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and China blames the separatist East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for fomenting trouble in the province.

Following China's statement, Pakistan, a close ally, said it would extend 'full cooperation' to Beijing in countering the rebels of the ETIM.

In an editorial titled 'Fight against terrorism', the China Daily quoted the local government's statement, saying a preliminary probe found that the East Turkistan Islamic Movement was behind the explosion at the weekend.

"The leaders of the group learned terrorist techniques in ETIM camps in Pakistan before they penetrated into Xinjiang," it said, calling for stepping up fight against terrorism and demanding a crackdown on separatists.

In its editorial, the Daily wrote that "the explosion again sends the message that terrorism is still a threat and that we must remain vigilant. Combating terrorism should be high on the agenda of our governments, especially those in the border areas".

Another English daily the Global Times too carried the official statement, highlighting that those captured have informed that their group's leaders got training in explosives and firearms in ETIM camps in Pakistan before entering
Xinjiang to organise terrorist activities.

It is rare that Pakistan gets bad publicity in Chinese media considering that close and 'all weather relations' between the two countries.

This is the first time China has directly mentioned Pakistan-based terror camps while referring to violence in Xinjing.

A photo shows a wanted sign posted on a pole in Kashgar for one of the suspects in the July 31 attacks, who was later killed by police in China on August 1, in Kashgar in the northwest Xinjiang region.