- Chinese authorities have said that members of a banned terrorist group namely The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is hiding out in Pakistan or Afghanistan is behind the attacks on civilians in the railway station in Urumqi.
- Urumqi is the provincial capital of China’s western Muslim-majority Xinjiang region and the group is pushing for the independence of Xinjiang’s native Uighur ethnic group.
- The region has often witnessed ethnic clashes between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese migrants in the region which have left hundreds dead and several others injured.
- Authorities believe that its members are hiding out in regions close to the border with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), but didn't explicitly blame Pakistan because of their close “all-weather” strategic ties.
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/separatist-group-behind-xinjiang-station-attack-china/article6023488.ece
Exams Perspective:
- ETIM
- Uighurs
- Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)
- Terrorism in China
