(CNN) Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has dodged a question on the reported detention of as many as two million Muslims in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, saying he "didn't know much" about the issue.

In an interview with the Financial Times released on Wednesday, the leader of the mainly Muslim nation was questioned about his stance on the mass detention centers where many of China's Muslim-majority Uyghurs have been sent. Activists and former detainees say the camps are designed to eradicate Uyghur culture and Muslim religious practices.

"Frankly, I don't know much about that," said Khan, whose government is a major beneficiary of Chinese aid.

When pressed, he said the Muslim world was going through "its worst phase" but demurred on Beijing's crackdown in Xinjiang. "If I had enough knowledge I would speak about it. It is not so much in the papers," he said.

Imran Khan hasn't heard about #Uyghur Muslims in China pic.twitter.com/lERKxKTkdI — Ismail Royer (@IsmailRoyer) March 28, 2019

The Chinese government has been fiercely criticized, mainly by Western countries, over its Xinjiang camps. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Beijing to "release all arbitrarily detained" Uyghurs after meeting with survivors on Wednesday.