Beijing: China has ordered "harsh" crackdown
on "religious extremists", especially those infiltrating from
across the border following a spate of deadly attacks in the
strategic Xinjiang province blamed on militants trained in
Pakistan.
Zhang Chunxian, secretary of Xinjiang regional committee
of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) of far western
China`s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, "has ordered a harsh
crackdown on religious extremists in the latest clampdown on
outbursts of violence", the government-run Xinhua news agency
said today.
His "pledge" to crackdown on militants at a regional
government meeting comes in the wake of bloody attacks in
Kashghar city close to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) that
claimed 22 lives in China`s northwest province on August 1.
The top Communist party leader underlined the need for a
"strike-hard policy in the crackdown against terrorists... to
resolutely curb the continued occurrences of violent terrorist
cases".
Zhang said managing of religious affairs should follow
the central government`s policy to "protect the legitimate,
ban the illegal, fight infiltration, and crack down on
crimes".
The reference to "infiltration" appeared significant in
the background of China, for the first time, blaming Uygur
"militants" trained in Pakistan for the deadly violence in
Kashghar.
Even though today`s reference to infiltration did not
make any direct reference to Pakistan, it apparently referred
to the attacks from across the border.
PTI
