Cynthia Ritchie, a blogger, explorer or an agent on a mission

BY ALI NAQVI – Before a month or so nobody knew who Cynthia Ritchie was and where she came from. But suddenly she was everywhere from trending on twitter to the top-rated talk shows on TV. Our local media introduced her as a blogger from US.

Cynthia Ritchie claims to be a global citizen and an explorer at heart. Her fascination to be the Indiana Jones drove her to visit countries like Pakistan. She loves the cultural diversity and the people that live in this beauteous country. It all sounds idealistic, romantic and adventurous. But as they say nothing is what it appears to be. 

If appearances can be deceptive, facts can be distorted and realities reconstructed. To answer who Cynthia Ritchie actually is and what is her agenda of living in Pakistan one needs to sieve a lot of information and sift facts carefully.

Cynthia came to instant limelight when she defamed and disrespected former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a tweet. She alleged the late PPP leader of something which I feel too inappropriate to mention here. Her allegations also implicated former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari.

No one can say whether Cynthia is telling the truth or not but we can certainly raise pertinent questions. The first question that comes to mind is that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated more than 12 years ago, what kept Cynthia Ritchie waiting that long to tweet about her character. Hitting the character of a person who is not in this world to defend herself is unethical by any standard.

The second question is why the media, both electronic and print valued the tweet of a Pakistan based US blogger whose blog doesn’t even appear in google search after repeated search queries. We all know that we need proper strategy and planning to reach large audiences on social media. Whose behind Cynthia to give her wide reach on conventional and digital media? Why she became an instant hot topic in the country?

Cynthia’s web of lies was later extended to other PPP leadership including former PM Yusuf Raza Gilani and former Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Serious allegations of sexual assault and rape were denied by both leaders. PPP is doing everything right to legally pursue the matter.

Amid the Coronavirus crisis Cynthia Ritchie jolted the politics of Pakistan. The way she has unfolded unverifiable and utterly disgusting stories about PPP leadership, she appears to be an agent in a blogger’s clothing. We did not know who Raymond Davis was until he did what he did.

The government should take this matter very carefully, Cynthia Ritchie is an American citizen and whatever she has done and will do would be in the US interest. Her staying in Pakistan for too long a period is also dubious. It is expected that the government will do something in this regard if it is not a ploy on its part to defame politicians and political parties.