RAWALPINDI, March 22 — On a rooftop of a house in a densely populated area of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, more than 100 Uyghur Muslims gathered to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.

Young and old, many in the doppa skullcap traditionally worn by Uyghur people, embraced and exchanged greetings under a backdrop proclaiming: “Eid Mubarak, Uyghur Kids Pakistan.”

“Every year, by the grace of God, we bring our Uyghur children together, we have fun here, to preserve our culture and our mother tongue,” Muhammad Umar Khan, leader of the Uyghur community in Pakistan, told AFP on Saturday.

Uyghurs are mainly found in the Xinjiang region northwest China but the diaspora is spread across several countries.

In Pakistan, where migration started in the 1960s, there are about 400 to 500 families, mostly in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, and in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad.

Much of the focus on the Uyghur people in recent years has been on allegations, strongly denied by China, of human rights violations, including possible crimes against humanity.

A 2022 UN rights report said there were “credible” allegations of widespread torture, arbitrary detention and violations of the religious and reproductive rights of Uyghurs and other Muslim groups.

Umar said he has about 300 relatives in Xinjiang province but had lost contact with them. “Our relatives are oppressed there. Not just mine, but Uyghurs all over the world, no one is able to contact them,” he said.

“Some of them have died. What condition they are in, we have no knowledge of it for the past 10 years.”

School 

Despite the loss of links to their homelands, Uyghur activists said they are determined to pass on their ethnic identity to the new generations born in Pakistan.

“(Our children) understand our language but they cannot speak it. That’s why we are a bit worried,” said Amanullah Khan.

“We want a school so they can at least learn the Uyghur language, so that we can preserve our culture.”

Exiled Uyghurs said they feared for their language and culture but even overseas they have run into barriers trying to keep it alive.

Umar said he once tried to establish a school for Uyghur children but it was closed down by authorities and he suspected “interference by China”.

Today, poverty means many Uyghur children cannot attend good schools. Some are not attending formal education at all.

Amanullah Khan said a school is needed so “our children can reach the level where they can become doctors, or engineers, or enter journalism, or get some good position in government”.

Despite the hardships, some younger Uyghurs are determined to carry the cause forward.

“My father is a Uyghur, my forefathers are also Uyghur, that’s why I feel proud to be an Uyghur,” said Muhammad Umar Khan’s daughter Sadia Umar.

“I just love the way my father works so hard for Uyghur people, Uyghur kids, God willing in the future I will do the same thing.” — AFP