Afghanistan: Uyghurs concerned over deportation to China after Taliban takeover
Aug 27, 2021
Kabul [Afghanistan] August 27 : Uyghurs population in Afghanistan fears that they will be extradited back to China on account of their status as "Chinese migrants" after the Taliban hostile takeover of the war-ravaged country.
Since Taliban terrorists seized control of Afghanistan following the pullout of US forces earlier this month, triggering an unabated chaotic exodus of thousands of civilians and foreigners, advocacy groups have been saying they fear the worst for the country's estimated 2,000 Uyghurs, Radio Free Asia reported.
An Uyghur woman who has been living in Kabul with her Afghan husband for more than 10 years said that she fears both Taliban repression and mistreatment of women and being returned to China on account of their status as 'Chinese migrants'.
"I'm terrified they're going to come looking for me because I 'belong to China,'" the woman added.
Mamat, an Uyghur man whose ancestors have come from China also expressed concerns and said "the roughly 80 Uyghur families in Kabul are living in confusion and fear about life under the Taliban."
"Kazakhstan is taking Kazakhs out of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan is taking Uzbeks out, Turkey and all the other countries are taking their own citizens away, but no one is even asking about how we're doing. No one is helping us [Uyghurs]," he added.
Several people also informed that the Taliban terrorists are now going into homes of people from the Uyghur community and kidnapping girls, Radio Free Asia reported.
Earlier this month, a US-based research and advocacy group has also released a new report documenting the complicity of Pakistan and Afghanistan in China's transnational repression of Uyghurs.
The report by Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs (Oxus), discerns different methods used by the Chinese government against Uyghur communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Last month, Netherland's Arnhem city had also broken cooperation chains with their sister city of Wuhan while terming Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs as 'genocide'.
