Pak team to investigate Ramzan ban in China

A Pakistan delegation was in China on Wednesday to investigate the ban on fasting for the Muslims.

A high-powered delegation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs had left for China on Tuesday to check the veracity of media reports that Chinese authorities have banned fasting in Ramazan in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province.

China had formally requested the Pakistan government to send a delegation to Xinjiang to ascertain facts regarding observance of Ramazan in the Muslim-populated province, said an official of the religious affairs ministry.

The request was made after an international news agency reported that Chinese authorities had outlawed fasting in the region.

The delegation includes Director General (Research) Noor Islam Shah and Faisal Mosque chief cleric Ziaur Rehman. It will stay in Xinjiang for four days and ascertain facts regarding the reported fasting ban. Earlier it was reported that Chinese authorities had marked the start of Ramazan with a customary ban on civil servants, students and children in the mainly Muslim region to fast. However, the Chinese government rejected the reports. Chinese officials claim they did not force Muslims in Xinjiang to break their fast during Ramzan.