Right, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Only boots/people on the ground that we can trust can let us know what happening but seeing as similar news has been coming from all kinds of sources about the persecution of Uyghurs (Turks, Indonesians/Malays, Western Media and out of China Uyghurs). I kinda believe they'll take this step.
Who can stop them??
The West only care to separate China and the Muslim world, they don't care about the Uyghurs. Pakistan can't act because it's in a relationship (economic, financial & military) with China. And none of the other countries other than Turkey can do much about it.
We also have to take into account that Xinjiang (East Turkestan if we follow what it's real name was and what locals call it too) was annexed by Communist China not long ago. This isn't their land, the Han Chinese civilization belongs near the Yangtze and the Yellow River just like we, Pakistanis, belong to the Indus and not the Ganga or Bengali rivers.
Historically, China never expanded past the desert/land of Tibet as you can see below:
You can see above how there's a big divide in the green east and the desert west. And historically, Chinese (Han, Yuan, Tang, etc etc) have lived in the Eastern part.
All their major cities are located near the Pacific Ocean too!
But this is a topic for another thread.
But yea, I believe East Turkestan doesn't belong to China, just like Kashmir or Palestine doesn't belong to outsiders.
The answer is very simple. What is China's policy regarding its western frontiers? It wants to economically develop this region and Pakistan plays a vital part. This means there will be exchanges occurring between the people. Pakistani businessmen and the public who desire to go on holiday in Xinjiang will see the truth. Therefore, the truth can't be hidden at least in the long term. Hence why I said to you before, instead of reading articles visit the region and then the answer to your question will appear in front of you. In my opinion, Xinjiang belongs to China, and it's in Pakistan's interests to support its ally. I guess we shall disagree with this point
Yes, please visit Turpan and outlying towns, mosques are shut down; in the villages - mosques have been completely razed to the ground. Friday prayers which had hundreds are only populated by less than 40; where are the young people gone? That is the question - just last year or 2 it was opposite; you have to look at Food Ranger's videos where he was travelling and it was amazing to see openness and frankness including friday prayers where thousands were.
Regretfully these Gang of Four have been re-invigorated when they did the same then; amongst the Hui there is now transliteration of arabic into chinese script so that those who cannot read arabic will get to hifz the texts with the pronounciations.
My professor colleague who visits annually to China and spends months there including in Xian; this year said for the first time he felt very uncomfortable and how difficult life has become as a muslim.
If what you said was true, I would like to know why the CPC Govt has taken this radical step in the last 2 years. Furthermore, it would be interesting to know who is spearheading this policy. What I'm referring to is above Hu Angang pay grade. The Chinese have spent enough time in Muslim countries, so they should be aware of what Friday prayers mean to Muslim. If I was advising the CPC Govt I would recommend bringing a Muslim delegation abroad and take them to count every single mosque in Xinjiang, so for future reference, we would know whether a mosque is razed to the ground and they can't hide it. What food ranger experienced was exactly what I felt when I visited the region in 2014. I hope Pakistan can help China to improve the situation and guide them. The Chinese are scared of radicalism but Pakistan is an expert in this field and we have dealt with this issue and the results speak for themselves.