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, said a Pakistani expert.

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.