ISLAMABAD   -  Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Peer Noorul Haq Qadri has lauded the Chinese government for providing religious freedom to Muslims of China.

Addressing a webinar hosted by Chinese Ambassador under the title of “Xinjiang is a wonderful land” Minister for Religious Affairs Peer Noorul Haq Qadri said that people of Pakistan had deep love in their hearts for the people of China. Commenting on Xinjiang, the Muslim dominated region of China, Peer Noorul Haq said that Xinjiang was a very beautiful and wonderful region of China, saying that Pakistan had religious and cultural ties with the people of Xinjiang.

He said that there were over 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang which was a testament to religious and ethnic harmony in the region. He added that importance of Xinjiang had further increased after becoming the centre of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The federal minister maintained that China had always protected rights of religious minorities under its constitution, adding that China should be praised for its efforts to ensure religious freedom in the country. He claimed that China had always given freedom to Muslim community in China to perform their religious duties including, Hajj, Umrah and fasting in Ramazan. He said, besides giving them freedom, the Chinese government had also provided financial support to the Muslim community. It must be noted that webinar hosted by Chinese ambassador to Pakistan last day was also attended by the local leadership of Xinjiang including the governor of the region who at the start of the session gave a detailed briefing over the region.