Uyghurs in Pakistan are a small community of ethnic

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

who live in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

that originate from

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, China.

Migration history

Some members of

ethnic minorities of China Ethnic minorities in China are the non- Han population in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. As of 2010, the combined population of of ...

, primarily Muslim

from

, have historically migrated to and settled in the northern parts of Pakistan. The earliest migrants, numbering in the thousands, came in as traders during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the area that is Pakistan was still under British rule. Most of these Uyghurs used to have warehouses and residences in towns in the North and in parts of upper Punjab and used to travel between Kashgar and Yarkand and these places, regularly. Others came in the 1940s in fear of communist persecution. A few hundred more fled to Pakistan in the aftermath of a failed uprising in

Khotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...

in 1954. Later waves of migration came in 1963 and again in 1974. Some Pakistani descendants who previously lived in Xinjiang, especially at Kashgar, have also moved back to Pakistan with their Uyghur spouses. Beginning in the 1980s, Pakistan began to become a major transit point for Uyghurs going on the '' hajj''; the temporary Uyghur settlements that formed there became the focal points of later, more permanent communities, as Uyghurs returning from their pilgrimage or from further studies at schools in Egypt and Saudi Arabia decided to settle down in Pakistan rather than return to China. , community leaders estimated their total numbers at 2,000 to 3,000 people, with 800 at Gilgit, another 2,000 at Rawalpindi, 100 at the border town of

Sust Sost or Sust ( ur, ) is a village in Gojal, Upper Hunza, Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the last town inside Pakistan on the Karakoram Highway before the Chinese border. It is elevated 2,800 meters above sea level. The town is an import ...

on the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

and the remainder scattered throughout the rest of the country.

Social integration

China has been suspicious of some members of the Uyghur community in Pakistan, viewing them as supporters of the

East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان مۇستەقىللىق ھەرىكىتى; zh, s=东突厥斯坦独立运动) is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and spa ...

. Pakistan has given them a friendly reception, but rejects any promotion of separatism or anything that challenges another country's sovereign integrity. Many Uyghurs in Pakistan run small businesses. In recent years, they have moved into the import-export field, buying

Chinese ceramics Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since Chinese Neolithic, pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the List of Palaeolithic sites in China, ...

, textiles, and other products from

for resale in Pakistan. The Uyghur community are usually well-integrated into Pakistani society. Intermarriage is common now, and most prefer to speak

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Uyghur.

Terrorism

A number of Uyghurs residing in Pakistan; especially remote northwestern mountainous tribal areas have been engaged in militancy and carrying out terrorist attacks on military and civilian targets. China claimed that members of the

East Turkestan Islamic Movement The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) or the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), formerly known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other names, is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Western China. Its stated goals a ...

have taken refuge in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. In 1997, fourteen Uyghur students with Chinese nationality studying in Pakistan were deported back to China after they organised a sympathy protest in support of riots in Ghulja; Amnesty International claims that they were executed. In 2009, another nine Uyghur militants captured in

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

were extradited to China. As of 2015, the Pakistani government asserted that Uyghur militants were no longer present in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan.

Community organisations

Omar Uyghur Trust

Omar and Akbar Khan, two Uyghur brothers in Pakistan, set up a cultural organisation, the Omar Uyghur Trust, to educate their community's children in the Uyghur language and culture.

Guesthouses

Pakistan also used to have a number of Uyghur community reception centres. Kashgarabad, located in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

, was run by wealthy Uyghur traders. Anwar ul-Ulum Abu Hanifa Madrassah was run by a man named Sheikh Serajuddin in Rawalpindi. A third, Hotanabad, was also located near Islamabad. Hotanabad was shut down in December 2000, a situation which the

Uyghur American Association The Uyghur American Association ( ug, ئامېرىكا ئۇيغۇر جەمئىيىتى, ئامېرىكا ئۇيغۇر بىرلىكى, translit=Amérika Uyghur Birliki, ; zh, s= 维吾尔裔美国人协会, p=Wéiwú'ěryì Měiguórén Xiéhu� ...

also attributes to pressure from China, which expressed concerns about these centers of facilitating recruitment for extremism against Beijing. Kashgarabad and Hotanabad both suffered another shutdown in 2006.

Notable people

* Abdul Rasul, Pakistani citizen of Uyghur ethnicity, leader of the Asian Muslims Human Rights Bureau. * Hakim Said, Pakistani herbalist. *

Sadia Rashid Sadia Rashid (born 1946) is a Pakistani educationist who is the current president of Hamdard Pakistan, chancellor of the Hamdard University and president of the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA). Early life She was born in 1946 in Sita ...

, Pakistani academic.

References

;Sources * * * *