Pakistan PM to attend Beijing Olympics despite West's boycott; set to hold essential talks

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will be attending the scheduled Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 ceremony next month despite several nations in the West boycotting the games over human rights abuses by Chinese President Xi Jinping's government.

Joining only a handful of nations that have not opted for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games, Pakistan PM will be visiting China to attend the opening ceremony of the sporting event. Khan will also hold discussions on Pakistan-China bilateral ties between both the nations, reported News International. 

Pakistan Prime Minister’s confirmation of visiting China in person came after several nations including the United States, UK, Australia, Canada announced a diplomatic boycott of the games citing human rights abuses. Even North Korea became the latest nation to pull out of the games citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is to note that athletes from across the globe, including the western nations that announced a diplomatic boycott, will be participating in Beijing Winter Olympics. 

US, UK, Australia and Canada will not send their diplomats to watch the games. The United States boycotted the Beijing Olympics citing China’s questionable human rights record, especially in the recent past considering the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Tibetians.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan, according to News International, will arrive in Beijing for an official three-day visit from February 3 to 5 at the Chinese leadership’s invitation. Khan’s spokesperson told a news briefing in Islamabad that during the visit, Khan will hold essential meetings with top Chinese government officials.

Beijing Games planning amid surging COVID-19 cases

It is to note that Beijing Winter Olympics is being held amid surging cases of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant. Taking a toll on the planning of the games, three cities in China have been pushed into a strict lockdown ahead of the event set to start on February 4.

Chinese authorities have decided to adhere to a stringent ‘zero Covid’ policy, forcing millions of people living in the cities with positive Coronavirus infections to remain under lockdown. For over three weeks, the Chinese city of Xi’an with 13 million people is still shut down.

Around 1.1 million more in Yuzhou have been under lockdown for over a week and most recently, the same measures were announced for Anyang, home to 5.5 million people.

Image: AP