ISLAMABAD: A Ministry of Religious Affairs (Mora) delegation has been sent to China's Xinjiang province, a mainly Muslim region where fasting during Ramazan was restricted, to observe how residents observe the holy month.

Mora Spokesman Noor Zaman told DawnNews the Chinese government had extended an official invitation to the ministry. "They asked us for names [of delegation members] and we gave them four names," he said.

The delegation comprising Mora Director General Research Noor Islam Shah, Faisal Mosque Khatib Ziaur Rehman and two other clerics will be back before Eid, he said.

Media reports, however, suggest that the team is there to investigate how Ramazan is observed after international news agencies reported that fasting had been restricted in the region.

The reports claim that the Chinese government requested the Pakistani government to send a team for the probe after the news surfaced.

The team is not going there to conduct a probe, Zaman said, adding that the delegation will submit a report on the observance of Ramazan in Xinjiang to the ministry upon its return.

"This is not a probe, as it is China's internal issue," he said.

China marked the start of Ramazan by restricting civil servants, students and children in Xinjiang from fasting, according to Chinese government websites.

The country's ruling Communist party is atheist and has, for years, restricted fasting for government employees and minors in the province.