But no longer.This year, an eerie silence hung over the plaza outside the imposing prayer hall as devotees gathered to mark the end of a month of fasting -- the lowest turnout in a generation according to residents.Authorities declined to comment on the numbers. But local businessmen said the government had used the multiple checkpoints encircling the city to prevent travellers to Kashgar from joining Eid prayers. Riots and clashes with the government killed hundreds more.Worries about extremism notwithstanding, many Xinjiang residents fear the loss of their cultural identity and question whether the government has gone too far. "We don't want it to become another Pakistan or Afghanistan," a shopkeeper in Tashkurgan said, fearing violence could spill into China from the nearby countries.But, he added, "only a small minority of Muslims are extremists. The Chinese government can't differentiate."

Source: Times of India July 13, 2017 07:39 UTC