A group of Pakistani businessmen have travelled to Beijing to petition for the release of their Chinese wives and children who were caught up in a sweeping detention campaign in Xinjiang.
The rare act of protest demonstrates how China’s security crackdown on the Uighur people, an ethnic group that traditionally practises Sufi Islam, could strain its relationship with an important ally in the Muslim world.
Pakistan is a core country in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has turned to Beijing for help to avoid a bailout by the IMF. But as links between the countries deepen, private business and families have fallen victim to China’s security build-up in Xinjiang, a region that borders Pakistan and Central Asia.
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