Flattering tone

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan (PMIK) has unabashedly admitted to have concurred in letter and in spirit with China's stand on the treatment of Uighurs — the Chinese Muslims living in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Speaking to Chinese journalists on the occasion of centenary celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he even went on to say that the Chinese version of alleged mistreatment of Uighurs was strikingly different from other Muslims settled across the world. In a blistering attack, he charged the western media for being grossly erroneous in reporting the excesses against the Uighur minority.

In a glaring display of flattery towards China — exceeding all diplomatic norms — Imran Khan said: "because of our extreme proximity and relationship with China, we accept the Chinese version". Without losing the slightest opportunity of criticising Kashmir, he alleged that it was hypocritical that while the Uighur situation and Hong Kong were being highlighted, attention was not being accorded to the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. Such an irresponsible and irrelevant statement is unbecoming of the stature of a Head of Government. The detractors of Imran, accused him for shedding crocodile tears as he lamented that western media was conspicuously silent on the "high handedness in Kashmir".

In the meantime, keeping Pakistan's all-weather ally China in good humour, ostensibly at Beijing's prompting, PMIK averred that CCP has achieved much better results without even a democracy. Most laughably, he stressed that the Chinese system for sifting through talents and bringing those up was better than in any democratic system. He further proceeded to praise the "flexibility" of the Chinese system, arguing that in Pakistani society and in western democracies, it is difficult to bring changes due to bindings of rules and regulations. In an apparent move to please the Chinese President Xi Jinping, Imran underlined that one can only become a leader after going through a long struggle; his comment was noteworthy as he said that the US Presidents did not go through this rigorous process at all.

It is pertinent to point out here that such an uncharitable remark on the election process of the US President is unlikely to augur well with the US Presidency and its ilk. This apart, Imran Khan's overwhelming praise for China in describing its polity as unique and crediting the Chinese President for getting rid of the malaise of corruption and eradication of poverty is not palatable by the China watchers. On the other hand, Imran has deliberately chosen to maintain silence over the continued oppression of the dissenters in China. Besides the inflated praise for China, Imran Khan stated that India was supposed to act as a counter-balance to China but that could be detrimental. Such unwarranted comments show that Imran was in a mode to articulate his pro-China views. Further, he emphasised that China was too strong and India needed to engage with it in activities of trade rather than militarily. He opined, rather unconvincingly, that if anyone was going to lose out, it could only be India.

PMIK claimed that Sino-Pak relations were very strong and they had nothing to do with India. Coming in fierce defence of China, he described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project as very exciting and disclosed Pakistani plans for attracting Chinese investment for special economic zones in Pakistan as the labour was much cheaper there.

PMIK's forthright and carte blanche support to the Chinese president on the issues of bilateral ties, the CPEC, and the Chinese system of governance is interpreted by experts as flattery. The sources feel that PMIK's pro-China statements were possibly based on a script written in Beijing and delivered to Imran Khan for parroting. For whatever he said on July 1, it is difficult to conceive that he would escape the criticism of the US and other Western countries for his anti-West rhetoric to mollycoddle China. As PMIK chose to name India while raising the Kashmir issue to the Chinese media persons and justified Chinese aggressive persecution of the Uighurs, he blatantly stood exposed amongst the Muslims. This act of indifference towards a section of Muslims exposes Imran's dubious role. On the one hand, he is critical of the Israeli excesses against the Palestinians but, on the other, he is openly supportive of the Chinese government in its crackdown on the Uighurs. Muslims, the world over, are unlikely to spare Imran for this diabolical step. It is also assessed that radical Islamic groups within Pakistan will come down heavily on PMIK for such statements and apathy shown towards the Chinese Muslims.

Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping shot out a serious warning to all the foreign forces that China would not allow itself to be bullied and protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Addressing thousands of people at the centurion event of the CCP, Xi hailed China's much-hyped "national rejuvenation" theme. At the celebrations, there was also a massive show of military strength when military helicopters presented a fly-past followed by 15 J-20 stealth Air Force fighters. Utilising this opportunity to reach out to the Chinese masses, Xi praised the CCP's concept of socialism and pointed towards the characteristics that are expected to transform the country from a highly centralised planned economy to a socialist market economy.

Chinese President's warning shots apart from its flexing of muscles to demonstrate its military, political and social power cautioned the world powers not to underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their unity and sovereignty. In light of these developments, China's self-confidence and self-perceived impression of military superiority calls for a close watch on its emerging bonhomie with Pakistan. It is imperative therefore to exercise more caution on the deepening of Sino-Pak relations. India's military preparedness and timely intelligence assessment need to be the top priority to thwart threats emanating from the Sino-Pak military axis amid a self-created euphoria.

The writer is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst and a former National Security Advisor to the PM of Mauritius. Views expressed are personal