Despite being the fifth most populous country in the world, Pakistan is nowhere close to vaccinating its 220 million people against COVID-19. Even as the country reels under the second wave of infections causing saturation of hospitalisations in the country, it visibly invested much more in its terror industry than the healthcare sector. And then, Pakistan is receiving no aid from India, which has already inoculated over 10 lakh people and is also the only country in the world to initiate a massive vaccine aid program for free for countries in South and Southeast Asia.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, meanwhile, has only the main culprit of the pandemic to rely on – China, which has in no uncertain terms told the terror state to pick up the vaccines itself and at a time of its own choosing. This has visibly caught Islamabad off guard, which was hoping for unparalleled cooperation from its “all weather-ally” to combat the pandemic that originated in China itself. This is precisely why Pakistan egotistically never approached India for any help with regards to the vaccine. Despite China taking its vassal state and the health of people therein casually – Pakistan has no alternative and will have to succumb to Chinese tantrums.
While telling Pakistan to pick up the 500,000 vaccine doses itself, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Pakistani counterpart, “Send your aircraft and immediately airlift this drug.” These will all be doses of the vaccine manufactured by Chinese major Sinopharm – which has been a subject of global trepidation following botching up of efficacy and safety data relating to its vaccine candidates.
In contrast, India has supplied Nepal with 10 lakh free doses of vaccines, while Bangladesh has received 20 lakh free doses from New Delhi as a gesture of goodwill. China, meanwhile, has decided to supply a meagre 500,000 doses to Pakistan – which it continues to call a friend like no other. In totality, India is supplying over 1 crore vaccine doses to its neighbours and friends in the region for free.
Read more: India will give 1 Crore vaccines free of cost to its immediate neighbours excluding Pakistan
Meanwhile, CanSino Biologics Inc. from China has offered 20 million vaccine shots to Pakistan as it gears up to release efficacy results “in a few days” from phase III trials, which were conducted in the terror state for its real-time availability of volunteers who are willing to be treated as guinea pigs. The Chinese vaccine industry has the unique ability to give rise to new pandemics due to the disasters it produces only to call them vaccines. People dying or suffering bouts of inexplicable illness after being administered Chinese vaccines is not something which the world community is particularly unaware of.
Yet, Pakistan has no other option but to procure vaccines from China. To further sweeten the deal, CanSino Biologics has decided to supply 20 million doses of its under-trial jab at a 25 per cent discount, on the precondition that the vials will be filled in Pakistan, and not in China. Needless to say, it is evident that China is making no real-time concessions for its ‘friend’, but is instead looking to create a market for its vaccines in the terror state, after being rejected by the world over its bid to carry out its vaccine diplomacy.