China, Pakistan, and the "Taliban syndrome"

The 'Taliban syndrome'-the movement to create an Islamic order in Afghanistan-is likely to threaten Pakistan's strategic interests and domestic stability. Ideologically, this syndrome is a blend of strict observance of Islam based on Saudi Arabia's salafiyya (puritanical) tradition. Social practices observed by highly conservative elements of the Afghan tribes and lower middle classes of the Subcontinent allow virtually no room for interpretation or deviation. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has special reasons for concern over the potential effects of the Taliban syndrome on the political stability of its Xinjiang Province, where the Uighur Muslims are seeking to win independence. One report about continuing political unrest in Xinjiang observes, 'Separatist sentiment, never fully quelled, has been reignited in recent years by Iran's Islamic revolution and by the newly independent Central Asian nations created in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse.