Pak lawmaker writes to UN chief to probe if COVID-19 man-made and trace its origin

A Pakistani lawmaker has appealed to the United Nations to form a commission to probe if coronavirus is a man-made or a naturally grown virus and also trace its origin, according to a media report. The former interior minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Rehman Malik, in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, suggested that the proposed commission on COVID-19 under the UN Convention on Biological Weapons, 1975 might comprise of virologists, scientists, professors, researchers, analysts and experts in the fields of microbiology and virology, the Dawn News reported.

Making the letter public at a press conference through a video link, Malik said the commission should present its report to the UN secretary-general in three months, and give recommendations to prevent future breakouts of such viruses, and international standards for coordination in case of a breakout. For the proposed UN commission on COVID-19, Malik has proposed seven 'terms of references' to the UN secretary-general.

These include accurate identification of the geo-location of the COVID-19's origin, identification of areas with zero patient, discovery as to why the behavior, intensity, and fertility rate of COVID-19 varies from country to country, investigation whether it is a man-made or naturally-grown virus and examination of the allegations of transportation of the virus from one place to other destinations in the world, as a 'biological warfare tactics'. He said the deadly coronavirus pandemic had stirred up the worst global crisis since World War II, the daily said.

"Many claims, speculations, conspiracy theories and misinformation about the disease have found their way into the international print and electronic media, blurring the distinction between real and fake news," he said. He said that he was not blaming any government or a group or leveling any allegation or endorsing any media report about the origin of COVID-19. However, he added, he had drawn the UN general secretary's attention to apprehensions being shown by the international media.

In his letter, Malik said the pandemic has shaken the whole world, like no other. "What was being reported internationally was instead of calming down the public, was only creating uncertainty and panic amongst the masses across the globe," he said.