In the face of a spreading ethnic Uighur rebellion, authorities in Chinese-ruled Xinjiang have alleged that a prominent Uighur separatist they captured had received terrorist training in Pakistan, China's "all-weather ally."

The charge came on a day when Pakistan's spy agency chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, after having just visited Xinjiang, was holding talks in Beijing on securing greater Chinese support to blunt the growing U.S. pressure.

The charge may reflect China's irritation with Pakistan's inability to contain the cross-border movement of some Uighur separatists. It also suggests that China's long-standing policy of coddling Pakistan is turning around to bite it in its ethnic rear.