Pakistan takes action against East Turkestan Islamic Movement

The Pakistan Army has said its forces were taking action against the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) on its soil, days after China blamed militants trained there for recent attacks in its restive Xinjiang region.

The Pakistan Army has been conducting and will continue operations against ETIM, military spokesperson Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters yesterday.

China has "always been appreciative of Pakistan's efforts in the war on terror", he said, without disclosing details of where the operations were taking place.

Media reports have said that ETIM cadres are being trained in camps in Pakistan's tribal Waziristan region along with Taliban and al-Qaeda groups.

Abbas said that Hasan Mahsum, China's most wanted terrorist with links to ETIM, was killed in Pakistan's tribal belt in October 2003 while Abdul Haq al-Turkistani alias Miamaitming Maimaili, who was a leader of ETIM, was killed by Pakistani forces in February this year.

"Our cooperation in the field of operations and intelligence will continue against the common threat of terrorism," Abbas said.

Hours after China blamed militants trained in a camp in Pakistan for an attack in the restive Xinjiang region, Islamabad said on Monday that it would extend "full cooperation" to Beijing in countering ETIM rebels.

China said Islamic extremists were behind the attack in Xinjiang region that left 11 people dead.

Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang resent the presence of Han Chinese and religious and political controls imposed by Beijing. The attack came a day after two small blasts hit Kashgar, a city dominated by Uighurs.