China today claimed there had been a sharp drop in terrorist attacks last year in its volatile Xinjiang province, saying the security situation in the region was now "stable" following the success of a massive crackdown against Islamist Uyghur militants.
The frequency of terrorist attacks in the province has dropped significantly, Zhang Chunxian, provincial head of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), said on the sidelines of the annual session of the national legislature here.
"The situation in Xinjiang is becoming ever more stable. Local authorities have strengthened their ability to prevent and fight terrorist activity," he said.
But at the same time Xinjiang which remained restive for several years due to Uyghur Muslim protests over Han settlements from other provinces, still faces a severe and complicated counter-terrorism situation that requires a continuous campaign against terrorists, Zhang said.
Religious extremism has dramatically dropped in Xinjiang, while the current counter-terrorism campaign has been attracting extensive support among people of various ethnic groups in the autonomous region, Zhang was quoted as saying by official media here.
China has blamed the al-Qaeda-backed East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) whose origins and its leadership were little known.
Xinjiang and rest of China witnessed some of the deadliest attacks in the last two years in which dozens were killed and scores injured. Also several Uyghurs were reported to have entered Syria to join the dreaded Islamic State terror group.
China also successfully stopped the migration of Uyghurs through southeast Asian countries.
The last major attack was reported in September, 2015 when a local coal mine was attacked killing 11 people.
"The number of terror cases dropped due to efforts to crack down on terrorist activities and to destroy the hotbed of terrorism," Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told state-run Global Times adding that rising international terrorism contributed greatly to militancy in China.
"Religious extremism created hatred among different ethnic groups under the guise of religion," Abudulrekep Tumniyaz, deputy director of the Xinjiang Islamic Association, said noting that Islam, as a religion of "peace, unity, tolerance and caring," as opposed to extremism.
The counter-terrorist campaign has helped protect the rights and interests of the public, Nayim Yasen, director of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang People's Congress, told the media at the conference.
In counter-terrorism, human rights as well as freedom of religion and ethnic customs should be respected, he said.
