Recent security discussions between China and Pakistan about Afghanistan have once again placed Uyghur Turks at the centre of a regional security debate. According to reports, Chinese and Pakistani officials discussed armed groups operating from Afghan territory, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, commonly known as ETIM.
China presents this cooperation as necessary to prevent terrorism and protect regional stability. Pakistan also describes the issue as part of its wider campaign against militant groups. But for Uyghurs, the concern is that broad security language could be used to target an entire community, including people who have no connection to violence.
The issue is especially sensitive because many Uyghurs in Pakistan and Afghanistan are refugees, migrants or asylum seekers. Treating Uyghur identity, political activism and militancy as the same thing could expose ordinary families to detention, deportation and pressure.
Why Afghanistan matters to Beijing and Uyghurs
Afghanistan shares a border with China through the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Beijing has long feared that Afghan territory could be used by groups hostile to China or that fighters connected to ETIM could cross into Xinjiang, which Uyghurs call East Turkestan.
China has therefore sought security guarantees from Afghan authorities. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Beijing has maintained direct contact with Kabul while pressing the Taliban to restrict Uyghur militants. Analysts say the Taliban has relocated some Uyghur fighters away from the Chinese border but has not necessarily expelled or handed them over to China.
For Beijing, even a limited armed presence is treated as a security concern. For Uyghur rights advocates, however, this policy creates a different danger: China may use the existence of a small militant network to justify wider action against Uyghur political and cultural activity.
The danger of collective punishment for Uyghurs
There is an important difference between dealing with an armed organisation and punishing an ethnic community. International law requires governments to identify individual wrongdoing and provide evidence. It does not allow an entire population to be treated as suspicious because of its ethnicity, religion or political views.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project and the Oxus Society have reported that Pakistan and Afghanistan have cooperated with Chinese security agencies in detaining, monitoring and extraditing Uyghurs. Their research says Pakistan has worked with Chinese authorities to arrest or return Uyghur citizens and asylum applicants since the 1990s. It also found little evidence since 2014 that Uyghur militant groups successfully mobilised other militants to attack Chinese nationals in Pakistan or Afghanistan.
These findings raise serious questions about whether counterterrorism policies are being used too broadly. A person should not be arrested simply for being Uyghur, criticising Beijing or having relatives connected to the Uyghur community.
China and Pakistan’s shared interests
China and Pakistan have a close strategic partnership. China is one of Pakistan’s most important economic and political partners, while Pakistan depends on Chinese investment, infrastructure projects and diplomatic support.
Beijing wants Pakistan to protect Chinese citizens and businesses operating in the country. It also wants Islamabad to prevent any support for Uyghur activism or armed groups. Pakistan, facing its own security problems, has reasons to cooperate with China on intelligence sharing and counterterrorism.
Earlier reporting by U.S. News described an intelligence arrangement between Beijing and Islamabad that included efforts to prevent Uyghur militants from receiving support in Afghanistan. The arrangement also reportedly sought assurances from Taliban leaders that they would not shelter or assist Uyghur fighters.
This cooperation may serve the governments’ strategic interests, but it can place vulnerable Uyghurs in danger. Refugees may be viewed not as individuals with rights but as potential security problems.
A security policy without accountability
China’s security concerns should not be dismissed automatically. Armed groups can threaten civilians, foreign workers and regional stability. But counterterrorism must be based on transparent evidence, independent investigations and fair legal procedures.
The label ETIM should not become a tool for silencing all Uyghur voices. Peaceful advocacy, religious practice, cultural activity and political criticism are not crimes. Governments must distinguish between a person’s identity and a person’s actions.
The risk is greater because Uyghurs already face transnational repression. Human-rights groups have documented threats, family pressure, surveillance and forced returns involving Uyghurs living abroad. In Türkiye, researchers have reported that Chinese security officials pressured Uyghurs to spy on one another and used relatives in China as leverage.
What must be protected
Any new China-Pakistan cooperation concerning Afghanistan should include safeguards for Uyghur civilians. No Uyghur should be detained, extradited or deported without a fair hearing and access to legal protection. Governments must also ensure that refugee status is not treated as proof of militancy.
Afghanistan’s security problems should not be used to erase the distinction between Uyghur identity and armed activity. Beijing and Islamabad may describe their cooperation as a fight against terrorism, but the world must watch how that policy is implemented. For Uyghurs, the fear is not only that militants may be targeted. It is that the entire community may once again be treated as guilty by association. Repeatedly placing Uyghurs at the centre of regional security deals without protecting their rights risks turning diplomacy into another instrument of repression.