New Delhi, Feb 11: The Taliban-ruled Afghanistan government has reportedly relocated East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) militants from the province bordering China, but Beijing is still concerned about the possibility of a major attack.
China’s top envoy to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said a UN report showed that members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement have called for jihad, or war, in Xinjiang following which China is facing a greater threat of terrorism. China’s Xinjiang policies have angered international extremist organizations and the theme of Uighur repression has gained a global jihadist hue.
Beijing is concerned about the Taliban’s historical ties with Uyghur militants, particularly the ETIM—a Uyghur separatist group that Beijing has partly blamed for ethnic tensions in its far western Xinjiang region.
Speaking at a UN meeting on Wednesday, Jun also urged the Taliban government in Afghanistan to take further action to combat terrorism. “In Afghanistan, the withdrawal of foreign troops has created a vacuum in the security situation, giving terrorist forces an opportunity to take advantage of the chaos,” Zhang told the meeting on threats to international security from terrorism.
A UN report last week said between 200 and 700 ETIM fighters remained in Afghanistan since the withdrawal of US forces. However, the Taliban say the militants’ traditional stronghold in Badakhshan province, bordering China, has now been relocated. The move was reportedly intended to oblige China, which had backed the Taliban regime. The region, which shares a 91-km border with China in the past, has been a stronghold of militants.
According to reports, the militants have been transferred to Baghlan, Takhar and other provinces as part of the Taliban’s efforts to both protect and control the group. But the region is linked to Badakhshan, due to which Beijing is restless.
