Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has said its closest ally China in recent times has been restrained in its support to Pakistan and “that is because of the concerns over the Uyghur jihadi movement”. He said any “Islamic enthusiasm” of creating an Islamic east Turkestan will not “fit well” with China. Stating that distrust with China is at an all-time high, Haqqani cited the FOX News poll that only 30 per cent of the Chinese have a “favourable view” of Pakistan. He was addressing the annual Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial lecture. The former ambassador spoke of “re-imagining Pakistan” in order to establish a pluralistic, multi-ethnic, modern, democratic Muslim majority state functioning under rule of law. “Pakistan’s median age is now 21 and 90 million of Pakistani’s have neither seen the partition nor seen the Bangladesh War. For the sake of these Pakistanis, a re-imagining of Pakistan is needed,” he said. He said the Pakistan’s military has developed a “policy tripod” — that includes an emphasis on Islam as a national unifier; hostility towards India as the principal foreign policy objective; and alliance with the US that helps defray the parts of Pakistan’s massive military expenditure. “All these obstruct Pakistan from functioning as a normal state.”
