COVID-19 origin tracing shouldn't be politicized, says Pakistani expert

ISLAMABAD - Global health watchdogs including the World Health Organization (WHO) should trace the origin of COVID-19 on scientific research and facts rather than politicizing the issue, a Pakistani expert told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China has fully cooperated with the WHO during the first phase of the study to trace the virus, during which a clear conclusion that lab leak is extremely unlikely has been reached by the WHO-China joint expert team, said Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, a regional geopolitical analyst from Islamabad-based think tank Center for Global and Strategic Studies.

"Right from the beginning, China has been very transparent, very open, very interactive, and has invited the WHO experts to come and see through their own eyes," he said.

The WHO and global health watchdogs, Khan stressed, should work on origin tracing of the coronavirus somewhere else "especially in the territory of the United States because it is an open secret that a laboratory situated in Maryland had been very notorious for the biological and chemical experiment."

Lauding the role played by China in helping the international community fight COVID-19 through its vaccine donation and exports, and supply of medical and protective equipment, the expert said that China has made great contributions to the global anti-pandemic fight.

Talking about Western media's propaganda against China regarding COVID-19, he said that the West is wasting its time to malign the good intention, holistic spirits and policies of China, which "have become the icon of humanity by offering equipment to fight COVID-19 and vaccines to struggling people."

"Western media have their own vested interests. They try to malign China to put black spot on the ongoing socio-economic development of China, but despite all negative propaganda, China has been successful in mitigating all the accusations against it by showing the facts to the world," said Khan.