Afghanistan Crisis: Uyghurs fear extradition to China as Taliban continues raids

Amidst waning evacuation operations in Afghanistan, hundreds of people from the Uyghur community fear that they could be extradited back to China on the account of their “Chinese migrants” status. As many 2,000 Uyghurs are estimated to reside across the war-ravaged country and with the fall of Kabul to Taliban, the fear of them being sent to the Xinjiang region has risen, Radio Free Asia reported.

Speaking to Radio Free Asia, one Uyghur woman said that she was “terrified” that the Taliban would come hunting for her and send her back to China. Meanwhile, Mamat, another person from the community stressed that “roughly 80 Uyghur families in Kabul are living in confusion and fear about their life under Taliban. It is imperative to note that with the Taliban’s occupation, fears have increased in women and several reports stated that the insurgents were now raiding houses in quest of Uyghur women.

What's happening in Xinjiang?

Previously, the European Parliament had observed that Chinese authorities were deliberately sending Uyghur women of childbearing age into forced abortions, intrauterine injections and sterilisation. However, China has consistently denied allegations of forced labour and other claims of human rights abuses in the area, which is home to about 11 million Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority that speak a language closely related to Turkish and have their own distinct culture.  The US State Department estimates that since 2017, up to two million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities could have passed through the camp system, which China calls vocational training centres designed to fight extremism.

What's happening in Afghanistan ?

Many countries have concluded their airlifting operations from Afghanistan including France, the Netherland, Germany. In the latest development, a spokesperson for Germany's foreign ministry in Berlin said that some 300 Germans are still remaining in Afghanistan just a day after the German military has suspended their evacuation aircraft from Kabul. As per the information given to the media, the spokesperson said that Berlin has recognised at least 10,000 Afghans who are eligible to travel to Germany and are in need of security and protection. Those Afghans are included in the categories of former local workers, journalists, and human rights advocates. 

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: AP