Munir Ahmed

Consistent efforts are being made to malign China worldwide to stop its economic spread, and rising political goodwill and collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is considered to be the backbone of the entire BRI framework and the future global trade and economic pace of China and its connectivity to Europe on one side and to the Central Asian states on the other. The enhanced comprehensive China-Pakistan bilateral cooperation is a consistent bone of contention for the US-lovers in Pakistan and the haters of China for any reasons or for no reasons.

No doubt, the US has played a great role in Pakistan’s socio-economic development. It is quoted that the US has invested about US$ 7.7 billion grants over the decades besides the strategic partnership in the region. Both were being questioned by rational thinkers and strategic analysts and still a dilemma for many as what has actually been spent in Pakistan on both accounts. We are still in dark about how much was spent to compensate the political scavengers in Pakistan and in the region protecting the US interests and objectives. Certainly, we did not have any answer, and perhaps it would remain so. 

As Pakistan gets closer and deeper with China, so the malicious campaigns are emerging in Pakistan. The rational thinkers believe that Pakistan has to strike a balance with other players in the region too while getting more cozy with China to avoid any economic and strategic conflicts. But, fortunately or

unfortunately, the majority of the public is more passionate about China because of the support China had extended in the hour of need. Unfortunately, the US is mainly considered in Pakistan now as an exploiter of the resources here for its vested interests in the region. This notion is built especially in the last five decades.

The US has rationally realized its fading public rapport in Pakistan while China is gaining more space. Perhaps that is why Pakistan has to clarify every other day that it is not changing the bloc. It may also be a good reason to spread malicious propaganda material against China through various means and agents. We have seen many such campaigns especially after Pakistan signed the CPEC.

As the Covid-19 third wave is gripping the world severely, the old malicious campaign re-launched in Pakistan against China regarding the nature of Covid-19 virus faking that it is ‘manmade’, and not from the bats. Different messages are being spread on social media platforms and through Whatsapp messages that if it is not manmade, it would have differently behaved in the hot-weathers but it did not.

The rising curve of the Covid-19 cases and increasing deaths a day have created chaotic fear and confusion in Pakistan though the cases are under reported shamelessly. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently released the list of least Covid-19 tested countries, and Pakistan tops it. The curve of the cases would steeply rise if the number of daily tests conducted as widely as required. It would add more fear and chaos to the public frustration and lead them to believe the fake propaganda messages that the virus is manmade and in China. Certainly, it needs to be tackled accordingly.

Titled as “SHOCKING NEWS”, a post is being spread on social media platforms and through Whatsapp message stating “Nobel Prize winner of 2018, Japanese physician, scientist and immunologist, Dr Tasuku Honjo, caused a sensation in the media by saying that the corona virus is not natural. If it is natural, it will not have affected the whole world like that. Because, depending on the nature, the temperature is different in different countries. If it were natural, it would only have affected countries with the same temperature. Instead, it spreads to a country like Switzerland, the same way it spreads to desert areas.  Whereas if it were natural, it would have spread in cold places, but would have died in hot places. I have done 40 years of research on animals and viruses. It is not natural. It is manufactured and the virus is completely artificial. I have been working for 4 years in Israel. I know all the staff of this laboratory well. I called them all after the Corona accident but all of their phones have been dead for 3 months. It is now understood that all of these laboratory technicians are under ground or have been Executed. Based on all of my knowledge and research to date, I can say this with 100 % confidence that Corona is not natural. It did not come from bats. Israel made it.”

This message was originally launched in February 2020 but Dr. Tasuku Honjo denied it categorically in a story globally released by the well-reputed news agency Reuters. Now this is being spread in Pakistan after changing the name of the country from Israel to China. Extremely malicious against a long cherished friend. We have mobilized the members of the Friends of China to report such messages to the regulatory authorities. But every diligent Pakistani has to be cautious about such malicious campaigns against China in Pakistan and play an active role in curbing such mala fide.