the rationalist 3rd edition

ASJAD BUKHARI

FARID ALVIE

BAACHA KHAN THE PASHTUN RATIONALIST LEGEND

Vol I Issue 3 January - March, 2013

ISLAM & ISLAMISM

CLOSED FORBUSINESS

MUNEEB TAHIRGOING PUBLIC

SALMAN HAMEED

ZERO DARK THIRTY

RSOP MEMBERS

QUOTES

2 • The Rationalist • www.rationlistpk.org

FEATURES04 ISLAM AND ISLAMISM Asjad Bukhari

09 BAACHA KHAN Dr Haider Shah

12 AND I LEFT MY QUETTA Muneeb tahir

16 DEPRESSION:A GLOBAL CRISIS Humna Ayub

18 DEVELOPING REAL SELF WORTH Raajan Soni

22 QUOTES From Members

24 CLOSED FOR BUSINESS Farid Alvie

28 GOING PUBLIC Muneeb Tahir

30 RATIONALISING PAK US RELATIONS Muhammad Nadeem Mirza

34 PSEUDOSCIENCE Faisal Irshad

BOOK REVIEW20 I AM NUJOOD, AGE 10 Iman Bukhari

MOVIE REVIEW17 LIFE OF PI Iman Bukhari

26 ZERO DARK THIRTY Dr Salman Hameed

BAACHA KHAN POTRAIT BY BILAWAL KHOSOThe beautiful Bachaa Khan Potrait is designed by young, passionate graphic designer Bilawal Khoso.You can see his more work atbehance.net/blwlHe tweets as @BilawalKhoso

MEMBERS EDITORIAL BOARD•Jawad Hikmatyar (UK)•Bilawal Khoso (PK)•Awais Naeem (PK)•Abubakar Bullo (PK)•Gul Goraya (NL)•Shama Zainab (PK)•Ali Naqvi (UK)•Asjad Bukhari (CA)•Asad Masood (PK)•Arfan Rao (SW)•Zara Khan (UK)

LEGAL EXPERTS COMMITTEE•Mahnaz Nadeem •Umar Khan (UK)•Sanam Khan

MEDIA COORDINATORSAhmad Waqass Goraya General Secretary (International)/Chief Coordinator [email protected] Anila Athar Hasan Managing Editor/President (UK Chapter) [email protected] Muneeb Tahir Online Media Manager [email protected] Ahmed Chughtai Member Media and Publications Committee [email protected] Akif Khan Chief Editor/President (Pakistan Chapter) [email protected]

The Rationalist • www.rationlistpk.org • 3

Dr Haider ShahFounder & Patron, [email protected] Chief EditorAkif [email protected] EditorAnila Athar [email protected] EditorAtif [email protected] EditorMuneeb [email protected]

EDITORIALThe market for conspiracy theories in Pakistan remains insatiable as we continued to see an unending supply of such theories in the last few months. “Supply creates its own demand”, an old discredited Economics law may have some truth in the case of juicy con-spiracy theories. The preponderance of such theories, however, also signifies a strong pull factor of demand for all kind of mumbo jumbo in our society. Ajmal Kasab, the infamous lone survivor of Mumbai terrorist attacks and who was hanged in India last month, is the latest addition to the conspiracy theories making rounds in the social networking circles. Not only the title of ‘martyr’ was conferred on him by certain sections of our population, but in few cities his fanatic sympathisers even performed funeral prayers to express their solidarity with the departed soul. The Indian Consulate was asked by Kasab’s family members for handing over of the body for burial in Kasab’s hometown. It is indeed very surprising to see that up till now our security establishment and its spokespersons in the media had been claiming that Kasab was not a Pakistani. When a national TV chan-nel traced his connection back to his home in Punjab, we were kept in the denial mode and the media persons were dubbed as foreign agents who wanted to malign Pakistan’s image. Interestingly same people are now outdoing each other in offering prayers for their deceased hero. If left to these characters, we should not be surprised if the grave of a coldblooded killer is turned into a shrine in no time. Aided by the smokescreen of conspiracy theories, some alarming incidents took place in various parts of Pakistan from the North Western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the Southern commercial capital of Karachi. An observer of the international community finds it hard to believe that the humanitarian cause of eradicating polio virus should irk a certain section of any religious community so much that it would feel no qualms before opening its guns on women health workers and volunteers. But when rationality is on the losing side, any stupidity can rule over us. In many areas of Pakistan some armed miscreants motivated by the misguided clerics, mainly belonging to the Taliban’s sickening ideology, coerced ordinary parents not to cooperate in administration of polio vaccination drops to their children. The clerics propagated through their sermons that the polio vaccine administra-tion was a part of worldwide conspiracy by anti-Islam schemers to cause infertility so that the Muslim population was cut to size. It is pertinent to note that Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the last three countries in the world left with the polio disease while the rest of the world has been able to eradicate this disease through successful vaccination programmes.But instead of doubling our efforts we have amongst us people who are not only discouraging parents from cooperating with vaccination workers but also using militant methods to frustrate the public zeal. Malala Yousufzai, known to the world as an icon of courage and human rights campaign, is now an international celebrity. The young girl with an innocent face from Swat valley got discharged recently from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, U.K after completion of surgical procedures. Even this child was not spared by the fertile minds of our con-spiracy theorists. Sun does not rise from the East and rainwater doesn’t fall due to gravity of earth. You can hardly convince them of anything if they have vowed not to use their brains. It was thus not surprising that they even disputed the fact of Malala being shot by Taliban. The fact that their many claims were extremely self-contradicting never bothers heavily their conscience. Those who were gracious enough to at least acknowledge that she was attacked ominously argued that she was attacked because she was a foreign agent. A third category of theorists, who always believe that the only mission of life of every Westerner is to defame Islam and Pakistan, were quick to claim that an ordinary incident of criminal attack was unnecessarily highlighted by the media so as to malign the image of Islam.Those with a geostrategic interest theorised that the drama was staged to create an excuse to start an operation in North Waziristan Agency against Taliban. While the world increasingly desires to see Malala become the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace prize, our conspiracy theorists feel devastated by mentioning of her name. With the facts unfolding right in the face, still our conspiracy loving theorists take delight by serious puffing of denial. The murders of Bashir Bilour, a prominent political figure and senior minister of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, and Manzar Imam, an MQM MPA, brutal killing of army personnel during a raid on the check-post at Serai Naurang, and many similar incidents are not enough to open their eyes and see the ever increasing monster of mili-tant extremism. Yet from the platform of RSOP, we would like to share our optimism that people in general have begun realising the gravity of situation and are thus raising their voice against militancy. Enough is enough. It is time to speak and act against preachers of hate and violence.


The marriage between power and divine (in different forms) is not something new to

human society. Whether we read books on ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indian,

Greek and Roman civilizations, or we study the history of organized biblical/monotheistic

religions, the footprints of divine or sacred kingships are everywhere.

Religion by itself, is an expedient and voluntarily scheme to set up morality, spirituality

and social interaction. The synergy religion creates within society can contribute towards

progress, but it also has potential to generatebigotry and hatred. Throughout human

history, fanatics and extremists have exploited religion as a driving force for some of

the worst atrocities. Conquerors, monarchs and warlords justified wars on the base of

religious differences or sometimes in an effort to spread their faith. This religiously

motivated adventurism has cost millions of human lives. In modern history, 14th to 16th

century Renaissance Movements in Europe accomplished significant developments to

ISLAM AND ISLAMISMAN OVERVIEW BY ASJAD BUKHARI

“It is I, the King of Kings.” Gilgamesh was his name from the day he was born, two-thirds of him god, but a third of him human,from the epic of Gilgamesh.

IN ISLAM, THE IDEA OF BLENDING POLITICS

WITH RELIGION WAS INITIATED DURING THE

FIRST MUSLIM DYNASTY.


The honor-system developed by early Muslims to run the society worked for a couple of decades

separate religion from power politics, but

still there are miles to go. In some societies,

the distance is in hundreds of miles and in

some, in thousands, but still we are far

from better. Although,in the developed

world,the Church has no authority to

govern the state, it still has some influence

and involvement into power politics via

political parties, pressure groups and

lobbies.

Islam is a monotheistic belief system

articulated by the Qur’an, a text

considered by Muslims to be the words of

Allah (God). It endorses certain moral and

ethical values to lead a person with the

blend of spirituality and morality. In Islam,

believers (Muslims) need to shape their

persona according to the prescribed

guidelines to progress their souls for

the betterment of this life and also to

get the reward from the divine, in life

after death. According to the Quran, this

message is the complete and universal

version of faith, that was revealed at

many times and places including biblical

prophets e.g. Abraham, Moses, Jesus etc.

In Islamic belief, Muhammad (c. 570 – 632)

is not the author of Islam, but instead is

regarded as the last messenger of Allah.

Islamism:Historically, Western writers used

the terms Islamism and Mohammedism

for Islam as a religion and Mohammedans

was an alternate to Muslims. By the turn of

the twentieth century, the term Islamism

replaced by the Arabic term Islam and by

1938, when Orientalist scholars completed

The Encyclopaedia of Islam, the term

Islamism disappeared completely. The

Orientalist scholars removed this term, as

it offended Muslim writers and readers.

The resurrection and redefinition of

Islamism, like its birth, took place in France

in the late 70s, as it started appearing in

titles of books and articles to describe

new Islamic movements and Islam as a

political ideology. Retrieval of the term

‘islamism’ never went without criticism

and most notably by a French historian

of Islam Maxime Rodinson, stating “If one

chooses this term, the reader may become

confused between an excited extremist

who wishes to kill everyone and a

reasonable person who believes in God in

the Muslim manner, something perfectly


respectable.” Parallel to that, American

authors started using the term Islamic

fundamentalism for politically motivated

Islamic movements. In the mid-90s

American authors like, Graham Fuller,

expressed their disagreement with the

term fundamentalism and suggested

that “this more recent phenomenon in

the Muslim world is not so much of an

old-fashioned theology but it is a current

political ideology” and they suggested

using the term ‘Islamism’. Because of this, a

majority of scholars are now using this term

to describe the inflexible ideology of Islamic

movements and individuals they believe:

‘Islam (Islamic state) should rule personal,

social and political life of every Muslim

and wherever Muslims are in majority or

they are in governing position, the law of

the land must be in conformity with the

Islamic Sharia. Moreover, they believe it is

the core duty of every Muslim to spread this

ideology all across the globe. The ultimate

goal is to establish Caliphate (Islamic

theocratic rule) in the entire planet.’

Upon the appearance of Islam, the social

structure of Hijaz was based on tribal

systems, where, every tribe was considered

as a separate nation, with some variation

in their traditions. In Mecca, the birth place

of Islam, Quraysh was a powerful merchant

tribe, that controlled the area and it’s Kaaba

(the holiest shrine of the region). Prophet

Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim

clan of the Quraysh tribe. When he was

in his late 30s, he periodically went off in

isolation to a cave in the surrounding

mountains for days. At the age of forty,

sitting in the cave, he reported receiving his

first revelation from God. Three years after

the first revelation, he started preaching

these revelations publicly: God is one and

submitting to Allah is the only way for

salvation and he himself is a prophet and

messenger of God, in the same vein as

other prophets e.g. Noah, Abraham,

Joseph, Moses, Jesus etc. Monotheist

theology and social values preached by

Prophet Muhammad were progressive and

different (in some areas), than the pagan

tribal traditions of Hijaz. This new religious

and social movement stressed the unity of

the Quraysh and that caused division and

discord. After decades of long struggle, by

means of preaching and battles, in the end

Prophet Muhammad and his companions

managed to convert all Quraysh and other

significant neighbouring tribes into Islam,

they once again united. Although, Prophet

Muhammad’s message brought a number

of social reforms in Hijaz, it still remained

a tribal society, where the status of an

individual was determined by what tribe

they were born into. On a socio political

horizon, there was no other tribe wealthier

or more powerful than the urban elite of

Mecca, the Quraysh. Coincidentally, the

most reliable and closest friends of the

Prophet were also from Quraysh. Aftermath

to the death of the Prophet, his closest

companions prudently influenced followers

that the caliph (leader/ruler after Prophet

Muhammad) should come from Quraysh.

This proposal was supposedly backed with

the words of Prophet Muhammad. In fact

during that time, the people of Hijaz were

not aware of anyone’s political leadership

except that of the Quraysh and they had

the popular support of the masses, and

no tribe could challenge this position.

History witnessed that all four Caliphs of

Rashidun and four major Muslim dynasties

after that established their legitimacy on

the basis of this. Evidently, this was not

the divine rule to impose one ‘chosen’ tribe

on all others. Rather, it was the pragmatic

strategy for that time by the Prophet’s most

reliable companions to avoid the battles for

successors and to progress Muslim society

after the Prophet’s death.

Compared to tribal pagan rituals, Islamic

monotheist theology with better social and

moral norms became a great source for

early Muslims to unite all tribes of Hijaz

under one umbrella. Since, these early

Muslims did not have a clear vision and

examples of the institution of the state;

their first model of the state was very much

like a tribal honor-system, where the chief

holds all of the sources of power. The honor-

system developed by early Muslims to run

the society worked for a couple of decades.

The reason for their success could possibly

be the lifelong companionships and direct

inspiration by the prophet. But, how

long this system survived and how it was

destroyed by civil wars and monarchs – is a

separate area of history and politics. What

needs to be identified is, rather a 1400 year

old tribal culture of the desert and power

structure is the core value in the message of

Islam. Or can this message be separated by

tribal traditions and power structure of that

time? In principle, the majority of Muslim

scholars, whether they are Islamists or

reformers, agree that values and guidelines

of Islam are core, not the tribal culture.

The differences begin when you identify,

what is desert culture and what are the

fundamental values and norms of Islam.

Traditionalists perceive the majority of tribal

traditions of that time as fundamentals of

Islam, and they drive principles of an Islamic

state from that tribal power structure. This

is the source from where Islamists get the

argument to justify amalgamation of power

politics and Islam. Contrary to that, generally

the subject of the Quran is not state or

In the beginning of the

twentieth century, the

concepts of modern state

changedrapidly;capitalist

democracies and

socialist states became

a reality.

Our species

needs, and

deserves, a

citizenry with minds

wide awake and a basic

understanding

of how the world

works.

CARL SAGAN


politics at all. Character building of

individuals is the main topic of the Quran.

It provides moral values for how humans

should behave in family, as well as,in society.

In Islam, the idea of blending politics with

religion was initiated during the first Muslim

dynasty. Although Muslim monarchs of 7th

and 8th centuries were not considered as

spiritual or religious leaders, with the help

of early Muslim clergy,they systematically

narrowed down the concept of Jihad into

holy war. That was the time when under

the influence of monarchs, Muslim clerics

produced tons of literature that provided

religious cover up for rulers to invade foreign

lands as part of Jihad. Although, those

hostile Jihadi ideas never went without

criticism and disagreement,the opposing

voices suffered persecutions and had a

hard time reaching the masses, compared

to the voices from the courtyards. Some

opposing intellectuals argued on the bases

of rationality and some tried to use mystic

routes to highlight the tolerant and human

side of Islam. After establishing the empire,

those Muslims dynasties maintained

certain distance between state matters and

religion, but from time to time, they used

Islam for their political purpose as well.

However, in the beginning of the twentieth

century, the concepts of modern state

changed rapidly;capitalist democracies and

socialist states became a reality. In reaction

to this, some of the Muslim world authors

like, Syed Qutab of Muslim Brotherhood in

Egypt and Syed Maududi of Jamat Islami

inPakistan went in search of a modern

Islamic theocratic state. These authors

not only produced the literature,but

they also launched political movements

to achieve the dream of an Islamic state.

During the Cold War era, USA and other

capitalist powers recognized these

relatively unpopular Islamist movements,

as useful barricades against the spread

of communist political movements in the

Muslim world. They supported and invested

heavily on these Islamist authors and their

movements, to suppress liberal and socialist

Muslim thoughts. Afghan Jihad of 80’s, was

the climax of that unholy marriage between

capitalists and Islamists. After the climax

of an unnatural friendship,in the start of

new millennium, they become each other’s

rivals.

Establishment of an Islamic theocratic

state to implement Sharia (figh) law is the

main objective of Islamists. However, they

have no direct support from the Quran to

aspire this utopia. Other than a few general

guidelines, the Quran is silent on politics and

statecraft. It provides some fundamentals

on which society may be built, with the

assurance of equality and social justice. It

does not,however,endorse or sanction any

particular form of government, including

theocracy and neither does it demand to

create an Islamic state. Contrary to that,

it encourages individuals to follow the

morals and values mentioned in the book.

Islamists endorse Shariah law as divine and

insist all Muslims to oppose man made

laws and struggle to enforce this law. This

is nevertheless fraudulent claim, as Shariah

laws are also man made and developed

by Muslim jurists (Imams) gradually (in

their personal capacity) in the centuries

after the Prophet’s time. These laws are

somewhat based on oral traditions of the

Prophet’s time. These traditions (hadith)

were documented from verbal history, after

two to three centuries of the Prophet’s

death. In these compilations, not only is the

margins of error high, but also most of them

are 1400 year old tribal customs of that

time, instead of divine laws. These laws are

not written in the Quran. Most interesting is

the fact that, there are dozens of versions of

these Shariah laws. Some versions of these

laws were adapted by Muslim rulers,and

some were practiced by individuals in their

personal lives,while some just stay in the

books. This is the prevalent problem with

Islamists;they greet the personal opinions

of 8th and 9th centuries Imams as a divine

and integral part of Islam, while completely

ignoring the realities and needs of the

different time and space, that makes these

man made Shariah laws irrelevant to the

present time.

The author is founding member of RSOP/social activist and information management professional, he can be reached via [email protected]


Work of young, passionate graphic designer Bilawal Khoso. You can see his more work at behance.net/blwlHe tweets as @BilawalKhoso


have one great dream, one

great longing.

Like flowers in the desert,

my people are born,

bloom for a while with nobody to look

after them, wither, and return to the dust

they came from.

I want to see them share each other’s

sorrow and happiness. I want to see them

work together as equal partners. I want to

see them play their national role and take

their rightful place among the nations

of the world, for the service of God and

humanity.”

These are the kind of dreams that Baacha

Khan wanted to turn into reality. As we

are giving coverage to noted rationalists

of Pakistan, in particular, and the Muslim

world, in general, the story will never be

complete if Baacha Khan’s name does

not appear at the very top. Named Abdul

Ghaffar Khan by his father Behram Khan,

a local landlord of Hashtnagar, Uthmanzai

village, Charsadda, he is more famous

by the names given by the people that

saw a saint in him. A living legend of his

own times he was better known asBaacha

Khan/Baadshah Khan (King Khan),

Fakhr-e-Afghan (Pride of Afghans) and

Sarhaddi Gandhi (Frontier Gandhi).Like a

true rationalist BaachaKhan did not see

the world in black and white. He didn’t

blind himself by his hatred for any group

of people and was always ready to adopt

good things from those he considered

political enemies. Most of his young life

was spent in jail due to his bitter opposition

of British rule in India. Still Baacha Khan

drew his earliest inspiration of serving

the community selflessly from Reverend

Mr. E.F.F Wigramwho was the headmaster

of the Edwardes Memorial Mission High

School in Peshawar and was serving the

local community. His strong ego was also

evident very early on as he refused the

then prestigious commission in an elite

corps of Pashtun soldiers of the British Raj

after he saw that the local officers were

not treated well by their British seniors.

He might have followed the footsteps

of his elder brother and proceeded to

London for higher studies but his mother

begged him not to go and he dropped

the idea. Perhaps destiny had earmarked

an altogether different mission for this tall

young Pashtun. Living among his villagers

he experienced a kind of nirvana without

sitting under any particular tree. Budha

began reformation by spreading his

message of nirvana in different lands and

preaching self-control over ambitions as

the key to happiness. Baacha Khan set out

reforming his society by educating it as

BAACHA KHANthe Pashtun rationalist legend

I A CONSCIENTIOUS

AND PRINCIPLED

ANTI-IMPERIALIST

BAACHA KHAN AS

In 1926 when Baacha Khan’s father died the local mullahs turned up in expectation of alms. But after consulting the gathered villagers he declared that the alm of 2000 rupees would go to the school instead of mullahs


a socio-political activist. While other men

of his age were either busy in romances or

settling scores through vendetta, the young

Baacha khan at 20, opened his first school

in Utmanzai which proved so successful

that other villages also began inviting him

to do the same there. Thus was born one

of the most significant political movements

of the sub-continent with the name of

KhudaiKhidmatgar (Servants of God). In

Baacha Khan we see the combination of

spirits of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as a social

reformer through education and of Gandhi

as a political leader using non-violent protest

as a strategic tool. Not surprisingly, Baacha

Khan soon emerged as one of the most

formidable enemies of the British Raj who

considered his politicisation of Pashtuns

a dangerous development. Through local

khans and religious leaders the British

rulers felt that the North Western Frontier

region did not pose a serious threat to the

British rule and hence they could focus their

energies on maintaining the Congress less

independence movement. Baacha Khan

was changing all that and was repeatedly

jailed and then was exile from NWFP. The

combined cause of freedom movement and

non-violence disciplined approach brought

Baacha Khan and Gandhi together which

lasted till the British left in 1947.

Baacha Khan, as a conscientious and

principled anti-imperialist politician, is well

known. To me the rationalist reformer side

of his personality is even more appealing.

Challenging a cruel despot is easier path to

follow compared to challenging the tyranny

of social norms and customs. Baacha Khan

had the courage and sagacity of fighting the

battle on two fronts. The proud Pashtun had

a pacifist spirit inside a formidable built. He

not only promoted the cause of education

but also went a step further by challenging

the cultural norm that an ordinary Pashtun

took for granted as the essence of the

Pashtun code; the cult of violent revenge.

Baacha Khan taught his followers that love

can create more in a second than bombs

can destroy in a century. This is not less than

a miracle that the people who were known

for vendetta on slightest excuse became

examples of non-violence in politics and

would swallow insult and provocations but

would refrain from retaliation.

In 1926 when Baacha Khan’s father died

the local mullahs turned up in expectation

of alms. But after consulting the gathered

villagers he declared that the alm of 2000

rupees would go to the school instead

of mullahs. Soon afterwards Baacha Khan

went for Hajj with his wife and sister. In

Mecca he attended a conference of Islamic

nations but as an honest rationalist he got

disillusioned by the constant bickering of

leaders over theological differences. When

Baacha Khan returned he formed a Youth

League of graduates of his Azad schools

with a view to launching social and political

reforms. One of the central objectives was

the uplift of women in a society dominated

by male chauvinist prejudices . Unlike

many hypocritical leaders, Baacha Khan

always began every change from his own

household. True to his conviction, Baacha

Khan’s sisters, therefore, became leaders of

the women empowerment movement and

began touring various districts and giving

speeches- a daring break with the taboos

ridden Pashtun society. To help spread his

reformation message, Baacha Khan, like Sir

Syed’s ‘Tehzeeb-ul-Ikhlaq’ magazine started

a Pashto journal ‘Pushtun’which proved

an instant success containing articles on

hygiene and social issues. Many authors

engaged in self-critical examination.

For instance, one female author bitterly

complained that “Except for the Pashtun,

the women have no enemy.He is clever

but is ardent in suppressing women…O

Pashtun….when you demand your

freedom, why do you deny it to women?”

Baacha Khan was also aware of the fact

that for long the religious identity of

Pashtuns subsumed their national identity

and freedom struggles were mostly led by

religious leaders in the Pashtun society. He

wanted to create a distinct political identity

of Pashtuns that did not rely heavily upon

religious affiliation. Once he said “ You have

heard of America and Europe. The people in

those countries may not be very religious,

but they have a sense of patriotism, love for

their nation, and social consciousness. And

look at the progress that has been made

there. Then take a look at ourselves ! We

have hardly learned to stand on our own

feet yet. Look at their standard of living and

then take a look at ours”.

Not only the followers of Baacha Khan

showered him with boundless love and

respect but his name became dear to all

freedom loving leaders of India and other

countries of the world. God also seemed

to be generous in bestowing honour on

Baacha Khan. His sons also made names

in different walks of life. Abdul Ghani Khan

became a noted artist and philosopher

poet of Pashto whose poetry has gained

international fame and translated in many

languages. Abdul Wali Khan became one of

the most prominent nationalist progressive

leaders of Pakistan and the third son,

Abdul Ali Khan distinguished himself as an

academic and remained the Vice Chancellor

of the Peshawar university

A few pages in this journal can do no

justice to the greatness of a man who was a

“match to his mountains” as his biographer

EknathEaswaran calls him. I have tried to

shed some light on the rationalist side of

that political and social warrior and reformer.

Through this we pay tribute to a legend of

rationalist humanism who unfortunately

spent most of his life in jails or in exile, at

the hands of British colonial rulers before

1947 and Pakistani establishment after

independence.

My head falls in shame that Baacha

Khan’sdream of transforming the Pahtun

society into a humanist secular society

where no discrimination on the basis of

faith or gender is permissible remains a

dream. Today girls schools are being

bombed and polio vaccination workers are

being killed in broad day light. Women

continue to be marginalised not just by

religious extremists but also by the cultural

norms. Perhaps all Pashtuns need a bit of

introspection and soul searching if they

genuinely want to pay tribute to the legend

that was Baacha Khan.

“Haider Shah is the founding member of Rationalist Society of Pakistan. He teaches Public Policy at University of Hertsfordshire, UK. He can be reached at

[email protected]


QADRI STYLE

Mrugank Bhatt was born in 1970 at Porbandar (Gujarat), revolted and chose Fine Arts.You can reach him at [email protected]


died today when masked

gunmen opened fire on a

bus carrying Shia pilgrims

in the suburbs of Quetta,

4 died today on Prince Road when two

unidentified motorcyclists threw a hand

grenade on a “settler’s” shop!

Yes, this is the everyday story of my

unfortunate city, my lost Eden and I am (as

they call me) a “Punjabi-settler”. Although,

my family had been living in Balochistan

since the year 1900 but still the “locals”

weren’t benevolent enough to ingress us

into the fold of being “locals”. This is the

story of many alike.

“Settlers” is a wider group of migrants

belonging to various ethnicities who

migrated to Quetta during different

periods of time in search of better

economic future. The irony is that the

Afghans who migrated to Quetta in the

aftermath of soviet invasion have fully

assimilated in the social order and are now

recognized as “locals”. This unfortunate

lot on the other hand which is called by

a slang (to me at least it is) “settlers”, after

living side by side with the “locals” for

more than a century, is still not recognized

as people who belong to this land.

The name Quetta is derived from the

Pashto word “Kwatta”, which means a fort,

the city itself is in a “bowl” hemmed in by

four mountains. It has been historically

inhabited by Pashtuns and Brahvis [with

Hazaras, Punjabis, Seraikis and Urdu

speakers being relatively newcomers in

the city’s demographic reality]. If Karachi

is a mini Pakistan then Quetta could

rightfully hold the title of being called

mini Karachi.

I remember growing up in this regional

hotpot of diverse cultures. The beauty

of Quetta is that it entails tinge of other

regional cultures from Pakistan’s western

frontiers (Iran, Afghanistan and as far

in the North West as Central Asia). The

strange fact is that even with all this

diversity; Quetta is still an immaculate

AND I LEFTMY QUETTA

16

WE AS A PEOPLE

ASKED FROM US

DID BITTERLY FAIL IN

DOING SO AT THE

SCALE OUR LAND

This Article is being published again due to some errors


model of how a culturally diverse society

could yield something so distinctive and

beautiful than a monoculture society ever

could.

Quetta to me, is a unique cultural and

social experiment, many ethnicities

living in this valley contribute to a larger

“Quettian” culture. This reinforces the

narrative of liberal quarters of Pakistani

society that a rigid monolithic culture

forced upon various regional ethnicities is

the real cause for weakening of Pakistani

federation instead of its strengthening.

Culture is a unique social phenomenon

which becomes richer and inclusive

whenever it comes in contact with other

cultures, taking their influence.

Quetta was a city which remained calm and

peaceful even when other metropolitans

of the country were wrecked with havoc

in the 90’s. I remember the liberty this city

offered to its inhabitants, men and women

alike, when its streets were filled up with

families strolling late at nights, its bazars

jam packed with vacationers and tourists

from Punjab and other parts of Pakistan in

Quetta to me, is a unique cultural and social experiment, many ethnicities living in this valley contribute to a larger “Quettian” culture. ”

the summer, buying carpets, crockery, dirt cheap

electronic appliances and Ah! Delicious dry fruits.

Its picnic spots like Hanna Lake, stunningly

beautiful and full of contrasts Urak and Karkhassa

valleys were a source of tourist attraction in

summer for people from all around the nation.

Local businesses boomed and gradually Quetta

was coming at par with other metropolitans of

the country, purchasing power of people was

improving and a well-educated intelligentsia

started to emerge which aspired to explore new

frontiers.

Those were the best times of my life and of any

Quettian for that matter.

Hope was ripe but then something happened,

Nawab Mohummad Akbar Shehbaz Khan Bugti

was murdered in cold blood by a dictator who

called him a traitor to the motherland.

This personality, whose role was instrumental in

efforts for Balochistan’s succession to Pakistani

federation and who also played a wide role in

acceptance of 1973’s constitution as a fundamental

social contract was brutally executed by the


protectors of “ideological” and geographical

boundaries of the Islamic republic, the same

republic for whose cause, Late Nawab Sahib

fought with all his voice.

The irony was that the person who gave

Nawab Sahib the title of being a “traitor”,

himself qualified for this title under article 6

of the Constitution of Pakistan, for abrogating

the constitution and revolting against a

government elected by the people of Pakistan

(that too by a 2/3rd majority).

Great upheaval followed and I for the first time

saw widespread ethnic violence in Quetta

since I became conscious of my surroundings,

in the aftermath of this travesty of justice in

epic proportions. Balochistan was burning

and the dictator was busy in burying the

body (whose presence in the coffin is still

ambiguous) of Nawab Sahib along with many

other secrets. Those were strange times; the

people I held dearest to my heart started

becoming aliens and ignoring me because of

my ethnicity.

I remember an incident with one of my best

friends at school. He had suddenly started

attending public gatherings of Sardar Akhter

Jan Mengal, who now seems to have the

softest core take on Balochistan issue, but

in the absence of radical separatist forces

like Balochistan Republican Party (BRP)

and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF),

Balochistan National Movement (BNM) those

days, his Balochistan National Party (Mengal)

was the most rigid voice from the province.

When I along with another ethnically Punjabi

speaking friend asked about the proceedings

of the public gathering out of general curiosity

once, his response was blunt and cold as ice,

“why would I tell two Punjabis about the

happenings at our Jalsa, So that you guys

could spy on us for the agencies?”- [incidents

of target killings had not gained momentum

by then].

For two 13 years old kids that meant a great

deal to hear from their closest friend. I am still

perplexed when I attempt to contemplate

that how could such an immense amount of

hate be induced into the mind of a 13 year

old, which makes him loathe his own best

friends.

This was the turning point, lines were drawn.

You were either with the “oppressors” or with

the Baloch national cause (that happened to

be freedom), neutrality meant silent support

of the oppressors-which most Punjabis

adopted (this was a huge mistake as I will

reflect upon at the end). Initially, Balochistan

Liberation Army (BLA) started to drop

manifestos giving two choices to Punjabis;

either give your daughters in marriages to

locals or leave Balochistan. There was no third

choice, only the absent announcement of

certain death in the event of failing to select

from any of the two choices.

Soon after, target killings started. None

was spared; barber shops became the

favorite killing fields for the killers because

they normally housed labor from Punjab.

Afterwards many lower middle class school

teachers were targeted and killed. The

statements claiming responsibility (claiming

killing trophies) after each of these killings

came from an “undisclosed location via

satellite phone” and the addressee would

usually be newspaper offices.

The excuse for each act of slaughter would

be the same, “They were killed because they

were spying for Pakistani secret agencies” and

every time I used to hear this I fell deep into

the bitter memories from the past of my 13

years old Mengal friend telling me, he can’t

tell me about the happenings in a public

demonstration because I would spy for the

agencies.

Technical and Professional Education Sector

became the favorite “target site” for these

“unidentified men” in the later stages.

Lecturers and veteran Professors were

ruthlessly slaughtered daily in the streets

of Quetta and the city’s roads washed with

innocent blood. Many of these dedicated

individuals had spent all their lives in this

land illuminating the decades old darkness

unleashed by ignorance of the masses and

sheer rejection from the central government,

with knowledge (many of whom I personally

knew).

It was not that they could not pursue better

career goals elsewhere in the country

(specially Punjab) or lacked opportunities, but

the level of commitment in these individuals

who wanted to give back something to the

land they were born and raised in, kept them

going. These poor souls got naught, but their

families did get their bullet riddled bodies

questioning why they were, who deemed

themselves equally as Balochistani as any

other, killed in vain.

Even a Pro Vice Chancellor of Balochistan

university was murdered by the same people

claiming their killing trophies after each

“triumph” over the helpless, unarmed and

innocent people.

A time came ultimately when the life for any

Punjabi-“settler” in Quetta, became paralytic.

Mobility itself became an issue and frequent

grenade attacks on residences of Punjabis

started. This was a city once deemed so

peaceful that people didn’t even bother to

close the doors to their houses. Going outside

the houses out of extreme necessity would

bear no surety that the individual would

come back alive. It was like marauding hordes

reigned supreme, stealing innocent people

of their most valued possessions, “their lives”!

It was then my family decided to vacate the

land we called our’s land for over a century,

the land in whose heart our elders slept their

eternal slumber.

Now the repatriated Punjabi “settlers” like

me, face a dual dilemma not only we have no

hope for returning back to our true homeland

i.e. Balochistan, but also aren’t we accepted

here in Punjab, many face extreme economic

problems. The struggle for an identity of

Punjabi “settlers” has just begun.

Did the Punjabis not go wrong anywhere?

This is the fundamental question many would

ask, after reading this story of mine. I would

try answering that with an anecdote.

My father always used to explain it to me

(when the state of affairs was still normal)

that, “Son always stand alongside the people

of this land in their every ebullient and

disconsolate moment, which has given you

roof over your head, food which you eat and

a life which could be the envy of many, for

these are the people who will stand beside

you in every moment of your hardship.” I

could just wish now that there were more

fathers from my community, saying this to

their sons and daughters.

We as a people did bitterly fail in doing so at

the scale our land asked from us. The brutality

of time and lack of this realization took all

from me (and many others) AND I LEFT MY

QUETTA.

MUNEEB TAHIR


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cross the world, depression has been the main contributor to

the burden of disease. It is estimated, that around

350 million have been affected by depression. A

study conducted by World health survey in around

17 countries concluded, that on average 1 out

of 20 people were affected by depression in the previous year.

Depressive disorder usually starts at a young age. It reduces the

functioning of people and is also recurring. Just because of this

reason, depression has been the leading disability, which uses up

most the time lost in one’s life. Globally, the demand to curb it has

been on the rise.

Depression is a mental disorder that is categorized by disturbed

sleep, low self worth, decreased energy, feeling of guilt and loss

of interest. Many times depression

comes with symptoms of anxiety.

These problems can impair one’s

ability to undertake daily activities,

if it turns out to be chronic.

Depression can also lead toward

suicide in its worst stage. In this

world, almost 1 million people

commit suicide every year.

A person can suffer from multiple

variations of depression. Depressive

episode mostly involves, depressed

mood, increased fatigability, loss

of interest and enjoyment, as the

main symptoms. A depressive

episode can be classified as mild,

modest or severe. A person who

is affected by mild depression, will

continue to work normally, but will

have some problem executing it,

whereas, in the extreme case, the

related person won’t be able to

undertake normal activities.

For both males and females,

depression is the major cause for

the disability, but females are 50%

more affected than males. Both in the high and low income

countries, depression is the principle cause behind disease in

women. Research done in developing countries shows, that

the main reason for poor growth in the young people may be

depression.

Depression can be reliably identified and treated in the presence

of primary care facilities. According to the guide lines given by

WHO, depression treatment consists of psychological support with

medication. Psychotherapy could also be used, which includes

interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy and

problem solving therapy. Antidepressant medicines can be very

effective form of treatment for moderate and severe depression,

but in case of mild depression, therapies are recommended. Other

than both these treatments,self help based programs have shown

some positive results. Self help books and internet based help

have been able to treat depression, as shown in various studies in

western countries.

Lack of trained personnel; lack of resources and social stigma

associated with different

mental disorders have

been the main barriers to

the provision of effective

care in different countries.

These barriers pose a

great deal of threat to the

global health. To counter

these barriers, there have

been different strategies,

which could yield better

results if used. Some of

the economic analysis

done shows, that dealing

with depression on a

primary level can be cost

effective; affordable and

feasible. The prevention

of depression is also an

important side to be

looked upon.

Depression is such

a disorder, that is

enveloping this world

casting negative effects

on humanity. A solution

to eradicate this disorder through an effective treatment is present

to improve the living condition of people around the world. It is

the time to educate ourselves about depression and support

those, who are suffering from it, on an individual, community and

national level.

DEPRESSIONA GLOBAL CRISIS

A HUMNA AYUB

The writer Humna Ayub is a graduate student of Psychology at GCU Lahore.


“I was sitting in this coffee house and this old man at the table

next tome struck up a conversation with me.Hesaid that you have

a story, which would make me believe in God.”

Based on the best-selling novel, with an academy award winning

director, Life of Pi is visually stunning and mentally thrilling.The

film starts with an Indian man named Pi Patel, living in Montreal,

Canada, telling his story to a local writer. Although, Pi narrates

of his younger years in India and his fascination with multiple

religions, the focus of his story revolves around his journey as a

16-year-old, who’s shipwrecked at sea with a small boat and a

Bengali tiger. During Pi’s journey, he does everything and any-

thing to survive, but also shows his humane side by constantly

attending to the tiger’s needs. Although, they both survive, the

meaning behind the journey is up to the audience. Some can

interpret it to be human’s resilience to survive, and others fate.

The movie however, tends to point at an interesting theme, with

its twist ending. When Piis found on shore, he is asked by officials

what happened. After Pi tells his story, the officials believe it is

a lie, and so,he is forced to tell a different version of the same

story. The second story has the same turn of events, but involves

humans and is more emotionally disturbing. The twist ending

shows, how story-tellers can embellish reality in order to bring

out a deeper meaning. In the end, it is the audience that is left to

decide, which truth they prefer, much like their belief in God.

LIFE OF PI IMAN BUKHARI

Director:Ang LeeWriters:David Magee (screen-play), Yann Martel (novel)Stars:Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain

The author is a freelance journalist and new media specialist, she can be reached via [email protected]


DEVELOPING REAL SELF WORTH

OUR SELF ESTEEM IS CONNECTED WITH

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH

With the world hit by financial crisis and value of

property and other assets dropping substantially,

we have a big question before us; what is our self

worth? Can our personal worth be calculated only

in terms of our material possessions, which can appreciate and

depreciate any time by the circumstances beyond our control and

thus manipulate the quality of our lives. Or, whether our peace

of mind and equilibrium of our life is in the hands of our material

possessions only?

Moreover, another question arises that whether it is all erroneous

due to our wrong perception of self worth as we measure it in

material context only while excluding our personaity. Hence in

case some crisis takes place, not only does it change the face of

economies but it also affects people’s lives as well. As somebody’s

material desires are compromised his self-worth also diminishes

alongwith his self esteem.

When our most measurable possessions are suddenly taken away,

we seem to lose our ability to live without them. There is such a

high emotional attachment to one’s possessions that a feeling

of helplessness creeps in. But why? After all earlier man survived

without any amenities. He found creative ways for survival.

While he was short of food, had no clothing and no shelter.

He operated from the knowledge that he carried with him to

overcome challenges of day to day life. Then, what is the reason

which compels us to measure our self worth in terms of material

possessions only?

One need that dominates all of our other needs is the desire of

approval from other people and society. We seek approval by

looking good, having a beautiful home, good saving, better social

status and so on. We depend on others to give us a sense of self-

worth. In order to fulfill the need to fit in people’s expectations we

try to gain material success, fame and money.

FOURSELVES


DEVELOPING REAL SELF WORTH

And gradually this urge propels us to

climb higher up the social ladder. Our

efforts translate into success and our basic

needs graduate into indulgence. Our basic

need for a house grow into the need for

a larger house and then desire to have

a best address in town, for that we even

resort to unethical means in a bid to get

approval. So ultimately the constant search

for validation of our real personal self-

worth exhausts and debilitate, making us

dependent on others to feel good about

ourselves and the constant waiting for

positive affirmation restricts our personal

growth. Later we start accumulating

material things at the expense of personal

growth. Our material possessions become

an integral part of our identity and thus

we enter into an unending vicious circle.

In fact, we become victims of our own

success.

Although, it would not be wise to deny the

value of material things as well as personal

accomplishments that are required to

lead a good life and to curve a good

future for our next generations. But the

biggest question is that how much is too

much and at what cost? And whether it

should be at the cost of personal growth?

And can material growth substitute our

personal growth? And what is the cost of

not striking a balance between material

growth and personal growth? Is it not true

that lack of personal growth results in a

poor self esteem and a high self esteem

is an integral component of life same as

food, clothing and shelter?

Our self esteem is connected with our

relationship with ourselves. The higher

our self esteem is, the better we feel about

ourselves. That relationship determines

everything about our lives and every

personal crisis, we face, is ultimately

caused by inadequate self-esteem, which

is the result of lack of personal self-worth.

The well-known psychologist Abraham

Maslow, who charted out a hierarchy of

human needs, placed self-esteem above

basic survival needs such as food, shelter

and clothing.

People with low self-esteem do not feel

comfortable in being themselves. So they

cover up who they are. One of the chief

manifestations of this cover-up is creating

a false self with the help of material

objects. Even high achievers often fuel

their actions by the need to earn society’s

approval. According to psychotherapists

“Those aspiring to be the center of

attention actually have rock-bottom self-

esteem. When your self-esteem is high,

you can accept yourself as you are, as you

don’t need to prove anything.

Our personal self worth correlates

with rationality, realism, intuitiveness,

creativity, independence, flexibility, ability

to manage change, willingness to admit

and correct mistakes, benevolence and

cooperation. Similarly, lack of personal

self worth correlates with irrationality,

blindness to reality, rigidity, fear of the new

and unfamiliar, inappropriate conformity

or inappropriate rebelliousness,

defensiveness, an overly compliant or

controlling behavior, and fear or hostility

towards others.

The best method to develop self-worth is

to develop oneself into a human resource

by developing one’s intellect. This is

the only way of creating self worth. It is

entirely personal and realization of true

source of our usefulness and value, that

can only be measured by the strength of

one’s intellect and a strong mind and not

by our personal possessions. Hence even

if value of our property and other assets

drops substantially what remains intact is

the value of our wisdom or the knowledge

within us. It is this love for ‘self’ that gives

us the basic material to overcome difficult

circumstances and create miracles in life.

So investment in oneself and giving time

to oneself for personal growth leads to

development of a human being who has a

high self-esteem and a real understanding

of self-worth.

Raajan Soni is a practicing law-yer at Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, India. He can be reached at [email protected]

The best method to develop self-worth is to develop oneself into a human resource by developing one’s intellect.


Photo taken of Nujood by Stephanie Sinclair for the National Geographic MagazineIman Bukhari is a freelance journalist and new media specialist, she can be reached via [email protected]


Yemeni law allows girls of any age to be wed, it forbids sexual intercourse until they have reached puberty. ”

“I’m a simple village girl who has always

obeyed the orders of my father and

brothers. Since forever, I have learned

to say yes to everything. Today I have

decided to say no.”

A compelling memoir written by a 10

year old girl in Yemen who was forced

by to marry a man three times her age,

due to her poor family’s fear that their

young daughter may become a rape

victim, like her older sister. Her husband

had promised her father that he wouldn’t

consummate the marriage until she had

reached puberty, but began daily raping

her starting on the wedding night. She

was also regularly beaten by her husband

and in-laws. Although Yemeni law allows

girls of any age to be wed, it forbids

sexual intercourse until they have reached

puberty. In regards to why child marriages

are permissible to begin with, Nujood

commented stating it’s not a major

concern in Yemen due to religious reasons.

Nujood escaped two months after her

wedding by the advice of her father’s

second wife, and went directly to court

to seek a divorce. “Where’s the judge?

I want a divorce!” With no money, no

education, nor understanding of the law,

she was lucky enough to find a lady lawyer

and judges who were sympathetic to her

cause. On April 15, 2008, Nujood Ali was

granted the first divorce given to a child

bride in Yemen, and has since then served

as an inspiration to other child brides.

New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas

Kristof, impressed by Nujood’s courage

I AM NUJOODAGE 10 &DIVORCED

Book Review byIman Bukhari

BY

N U J O O D A L I

Photo taken of Nujood by Stephanie Sinclair for the National Geographic MagazineIman Bukhari is a freelance journalist and new media specialist, she can be reached via [email protected]

wrote in his article Divorced Before Puberty stating “The United States last month announced $150 million in military assistance for Yemen to fight

extremists. In contrast, it costs just $50 to send a girl to public school for a year — and little girls like Nujood may prove more effective than missiles

at defeating terrorists.” Kistof is the same journalist who brought Malala Yousafzai in limelight.

SUNSET(TOP RIGHT) BY JESSIE EASTLAND AKA ROBERT DEMEO (OWN WORK) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (HTTP://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY-SA/3.0)], VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - BULB BY JONAKA DHARMASENA AT STOCK VAULT - BY GNUCKX [CC-BY-2.0 (HTTP://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/2.0)], VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - PIAZZA DI SPAGNA ROME ITALY BY GNUCKX [CC-BY-2.0 (HTTP://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/2.0)], VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS


RSOP-QUOTES

YASIR MALIK

NEHAL VAIDYA

MAIJA ATHENA

ASHFAQ SHEIKH

AKIF KHAN

MARIAM GORAYA

Quotations compiled from discussionsat Facebook Group of RSOP.

A man’s sexuality is something that he and he alone should be burdened

with, not a woman. Maija Athena

1.


Saudi Arabia and other GCC states are more loathsome towards Iran than

Israel but please keep it to

yourself. Ashfaq Sheikh

Ek hon Muslim h a r r a m k i pasbani k liye, Neel k Sahil se

le kr Tabkhak-e-Kashghar! I hope Iqbal is not talking about the harems of Sheikhs. Akif Khan

The greatest differ-ence between sci-ence and pseudosci-ence is, in first you get

straight answer while in second you are taken round and round and you never get the answer. Nehal Vaidya

“Girl announced to resume her education without any fear”. I think this

will make a perfect definition of “Liberal Fascism” for our people. Yasir Malik

There is no gas, no power, no econ-omy and it has a direct causative

relationship with drones and it’s all Malala’s fault. Only if she didn’t get shot in the head by my poor Taliban brethren, we would have been able to make enough electricity to give it to Afghanistan and moreover elec-trocute women rights workers with that same electricity. Mariam Goraya

Rationalist Society Of Pakistan

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Facebook Page:

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Twitter:

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3.

2. 5.

4.

6.


alvation, it seems, is finally at hand. An article

published in the latest edition of the prestigious

New Haven Journal of Metaphysical Anomalies and

Scientific Theology informs us that Professor Allan

Bloom might have been right after all but not in the

way he had imagined. The title of his famous book, The Closing

of the American Mind, hinted at the truth that is now verified

and institutionalized at a small elite center 73 miles northwest

of Reykjavik. Linked to the prominent journal and run by a

group of science coordinators and theological technicians, the

Metaphysical Anomalies and Scientific Theology Institute (MASTI)

has discovered that mankind can achieve nirvana only through

the closing of the human mind.

“A perfectly closed mind is one that encourages peace by ensuring

that all cerebral activity takes place in a vacuum,” said the principal

co-investigator of the research that led to this discovery. “This

mental state allows one to view all problems through a single

black-and-white lens, thereby making them incredibly easy to

solve. In order to achieve this state, one must begin in earnest by

trying to be as narrow-minded as possible. Strict adherence to this

will eventually lead to a state where not even light can enter (or

escape) the closed sanctity of one’s mind. Never forget: the mind

is simply a tool… you must allow it to turn you into one as well,”

he added.

Whether it is pure religion or even purer science, filthy lucre from

the world of global finance or rich traditions from an ancient

heritage, a closed mind can overcome and enhance anything,

thus leading to self-righteousness and egotism (which can easily

be passed off as self-confidence and self-assurance). This attitude

also enables one to pity others for their belief systems and

bestows one with a feeling of superiority and delusion about one’s

own greatness.

“Our research has conclusively shown that thinking frequently

leads to vulgarity, obscenity and lack of morality,” said the other

principal co-investigator. “Questioning leads to uncertainty and

creates confusion. We must appreciate the fact that there is

no room for doubt in a closed mind…therefore, no resulting

confusion…ever.”

Welcoming the research, former US Vice President Dan Quayle

repeated his famous quote: “What a waste it is to lose one’s mind.

Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is,”

proving once again that a closed mind works best when coupled

with a closed mouth.

The research has won acclaim far and wide and is being embraced

with open arms by governments, multinationals, military

forces, religious organizations, robber barons, scientific and

CLOSEDFOR BUSINESS

S

RESEARCH HAS CONCLUSIVELY THINKING FREQUENTLY

LEADS TO VULGARITY , OBSCENITY AND LACK OF MORALITY


academic communities, terrorist outfits,

self-awareness movements, marketing

campaigns, and even twentysomething

liberal artists all over the world.

Farid Alvie is a veteran journalist and writer. He

writes for The News, Tehelka and Friday Times. He can be followed at @faridalvie

What a waste it is to lose one’s mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is”

BRIGHT IDEA</A> BY ZALDY ICAONAPO


ZERO DARK THIRTYThere cannot be a spoiler for this film. Zero Dark Thirty is about the efforts to track Osama Bin Laden. The movie has already garnered a lot of controversy over its depiction of role of torture in procuring information that led to the Bin Laden’s compound in Abottabad (or as the Americans like to call it, “Batabatabad”!). The film - whether one likes it or not - is important. It is going to shape the story of the hunt for Bin Laden. It is certainly not a triumphant film. But then, it is not exactly a documentary either. Instead, it is a tout action film.

If the torture theme touched a raw nerve in the US , we have to wonder how it is going to play out for Pakistani audiences. The news so far is that it will not not be shown in the movie theaters in Pakistan . I watched the movie at Times Square , New York , on its opening night. It was an intense experience. At one point, the film talked about Pakistani-American, Faisal Shahzad, and his plans to blow up Times Square . A chill went through my spine. But while the movie portrays a somewhat complicated picture of America ‘s “war on terror”, the depictions


of Pakistan are still quite bland and narrow. Just like the recent film, Argo, there are no real sympathetic local characters (other than in the role of a loyal servant or a subordinate agent).Ultimately, is the film worth seeing? I sit down with a film professor at University of Massachusetts , Amherst , to review the merits of the “Zero Dark Thirty” as a thriller, as a drama, and as a political tinderbox. Here is our “Film Autopsy” of “Zero Dark Thirty”: http://www.irtiqa-blog.com/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty-film-

autopsy.html

Dr. Salman Hameed is an astronomer and Assistant Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. He also writes on the blog “Irtiqa”. His blog tracks and comments on news relevant to the interplay of science & religion - including scientific debates taking place in the Muslim world.

IMAGE FROM GOOGLE.COM

http://www.irtiqa-blog.com/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty-film-autopsy.html

http://www.irtiqa-blog.com/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty-film-autopsy.html


Pakistani moderates/

liberals until now have

opted to stay way lower

on the radar. There is no

doubt that this society

is becoming less receptive with each

passing day. Fanaticism in Pakistan is just

another day, but could the reason for this

on wheel progression be the absence of

an easily accesible alternative narrative?

The abundance of ultra-right wing

misinformation and propaganda is

something, which people like us meet

daily through various media. This material

is being channeled through every media

known to the dictionary. Where is the

equally vocal liberal narrative, needed

to confront the populist, ultra-right wing

version?

Those days are long gone when a

silent majority of Pakistani moderates

existed. People, who engage the masses,

are well aware and concerned of this

development.

Pakistan is truly a magical land, where

any well has to reach out to people,

for quenching their thirst, instead of

people coming to the well, to get theirs

quenched. So, an alternative narrative to

this rhetoric of hate and ignorance has

to be channeled in a manner to Pakistani

masses, that it is comprehendible and a

source of least contention.

Last year after having a good look at

Beghairat Brigade’s (BB’s)“Aalu Anday”, I

finally had my answer. The song has been

immensely popular amongst all classes.

Its ‘controversial’ lines were digested in

most cases by the listeners, with smiles

drawn to their faces. The reason being

that, the message was comprehendible

for many Pakistanis who understood

Punjabi (if not spoken); the manner in

which it was presented also blunted

possible criticism from the far right.

Lines holding rebellious disapproval of

society’s collective behavior, did certainly

make Pakistanis scratch their heads.

The song at some level was successful

in engaging the largest segment of

Pakistanis, whom liberals consider

outcasts andare content with calling,

“simpletons”.Too bad there was more

from the band!TaimurRehman’s “Jhootka

sir ooncha” based on Jalib’s poetry was

another exception. Forums like “Khudi”

are also making a difference in whatever

narrow space they are provided with.

Just like politicians have been facing

allegations of ‘drawing room’ politics, I

think Pakistani moderates and liberals

too should involve themselves in

introspection. Engaging the “simpleton”

is the key, some online liberal forums

like had that opportunity, to engage

this segment of Pakistanis, they instead

have since recently, started using this

opportunity for misdemeanors. They

were initially doing a pretty good job,

addressing the easy comprehension and

accessibility problem, rather effectively.

This tells us that this engagement needs

to be carried out in some prescribed

bounds, so that offense is minimal, while

the message is also conveyed tactfully.

If anything is done to the contrary, then

it would be just like providing fodder

to conspiracy theorists and ultra- wing

wingers, hell bent upon proving liberals

to be enemies of state and the religion

of majority.

We must learn this and learn it quickly,

that the space available for liberals to

maneuver in this highly intransigent

society is very thin. To make any difference

would require a mixture of perseverance

and sugar coating one’s message.

Today we see many liberal forums

on Facebook and Tweets from the

“enlightened ones”. There are all sorts

of debates, regarding politics, religion,

notions of ‘ghairat’ etc. Ideological

rhetoric is being splashed against groups

and pages walls, but I ask you, what I used

to ask my own self:

Frankly speaking, it doesn’t make much

of a difference, because rightists don’t

give a fish about all this blabbering.

Liberals immersed in their drawing room

culture and extreme cynicism keep on

crying all day long about the injustices

and ignorance in our society, but do not

engage the “simpletons”.

Exchange of ideas between the

“enlightened ones” alone can’t make

miracles. The rationale has to trickle down

to the common man in a comprehendible

and “toned down” language, for things

to change for good.Presently, this

is not happening, liberals are content

with communicating amongst closed

communities, which give little space to

simpletons. They need to at least start

pitching their version to a larger audience.

When you do not engage other side in

a rational dialogue and put forth your

options, how do you expect it to start

thinking out of the “establishment’s box”?

There are numerous forums, which

attract far greater following (from the

age group of 15-30, mainly) than liberal

forums. These basically promote the same

tattered versions of history and farfetched

conspiracy theories, which present day

Pakistani liberal/moderate detests with all

his/her power of reason.

Present day Pakistani moderates and

liberals have yet to embrace this fact that

social media is a revolution in itself. While,


A SILENT MAJORITY OF PAKISTANI

MODERATES

in Pakistan’s case it is an opportunity

unparalleled by any other, since the past

three ‘lost’ decades. This media of all

others could provide a robust platform

for objective discourse, ultimately

concluding itself in reshaping public

opinion and redirection of priorities (in

matters encompassing state and religion).

Over 8 Million Pakistanis maintain regular

Facebook accounts. The number of

internet users in Pakistan is over 20Million

with 11.5% internet penetration, per

ITU statistics. Pakistan is amongst the

top thirty countrieswith most Facebook

users, while the breakup of the Pakistani

Facebook users in terms of age groups

tells us that, 98% of Pakistani Facebook

users are between the age group of 13-44.

Intellectuals have been writing extensively

regarding the fact that Evangelists and

Televangelists both targeted Pakistani

middle class youth, since the 80-90’s.

They penetrated universities and

colleges. They then made inroads to the

electronic media. Even Pakistani pop

music industry was approached, resulting

in transformation of two singers, one

into an evangelical and another into a

Televangelist. The religious conversion of

Pakistani cricketers is not news unheard,

either.

Without spiting the evangelicals and

televangelists for what they did, I would

like to guide the attention of my readers

to the success their strategy bore.

There are lessons to be learned from

the strategy adopted by these groups.

They mainly targeted youth, which had

humongous amounts of potential and

were easy to manipulate after a decade

long fundamentalist indoctrination

during Zia’s regime. They invested in the

FUTURE.

Visibly evangelicals and televangelists

cashed this situation big time.

Liberals and moderates aren’t

approaching their fellow countrymen and

women with their versions of the story,

they instead keep whining about the role

of state agencies, the government, army,

religious elite (religion itself at times),

Saudis, right leaning media and Zaid

Hamid for all ills of the country without

making any serious effort to play their

part in bringing some lucidityto this freak

show. This all happens in small restricted

groups, composing liberals, hence no

trickling down.

It is often observed that these episodes

transform into bashing or disowning

Pakistan after getting frustrated. Does

bashing the only place we could call as

‘home’ in the name of realism help? The

answer would certainly be in negation.

Rational argument never goes by unheard,

if your addressee refuses to accept the

validly of your rational argument on your

face, he/she will certainly give it a thought

once trying to sleep at night. There is

something about a rational argument,

that some part of it always seeps deeper

into the skin and touches hearts. Even if,

some of it seeps in, consider you have a

job well done at your hands.

Key will always be the same, keep pitching

the liberal narrative in easy access and

comprehension of the simpletons.

Availability of options will provide people

with choices, something, which they

really never had before. Beghairat Brigade

could make an effort, could YOU?

The author is a writer and founder of facebook group Pakistani Nationalism and a student of Textile Engineering. He can be reached at [email protected]

EXISTED

GOING PUBLIC

PEOPLE BY FRANCISCO FARIAS JR

United States is not an

‘enemy’ of Pakistan; it

is neither a ‘friend’. It

only does business with

Pakistan and that is how states should

deal to each other – at least this is what

those belonging to the realist school of

thought in international relations believe.

The core of international relations can

be described in one word and that is

“national self interest”. States behave in

the international arena only to achieve

certain ends determined by their national

interests.

As every state pursues its own national

interest, so there is a bright chance that

they might clash at certain points. In this

case, they try to search a “way” which best

satisfy the interests of both the states

concerned. And if that consensus on a

certain ‘policy issue’ could not be achieved,

then the stronger state using available

means – political, economic, diplomatic,

military – allures or forces the weaker state

to redefine its national interest according

to the changed situation.

The impression, that the weaker state

had to submit to the demands of the

stronger, and “put aside” its own national

interest, is not true. It simply “redefines”

its national interests in the wake of the

changed geostrategic environment of the

world. This is exactly what happened after

September 11, 2001, when Pakistan had

to take a u-turn on its Afghan policy and

redefine its national interests to be in

congruence with those of the American

national interests.

United States had been accused of leaving

Pakistan ‘alone’ in the times of crises. The

accusations’ list is very long but here, a few

will be discussed.

First it is being accused to not come to

Pakistan’s support in 1965 war against

India. But the question arises that why

United States should have come to

Pakistan’s help? SEATO and CENTO that

had been signed were not directed

RATIONALISING PAK-US RELATIONS: THERE IS NOTHING PERSONAL; IT’S ALL ABOUT BUSINESS!BY MUHAMMAD NADEEM MIRZA

16


against India.

They were directed against communist

threat arising from Soviet Union. United

States never said, nor committed, to come

to Pakistan’s help in the times of a war

with India – though there existed certain

“verbal” promises made by a number of

American officials in this regard, which

proved to be just “lip service”.

Similarly Pakistan never committed to

help United States in its ‘possible’ war

against Soviet Union. Both Pakistan and

United States came closer to each other

for different reasons. . Former Ambassador

Tariq Fatimi stated that the same reasons

that brought them together became the

reasons of their ‘parting away’. United

States wished to use Pakistan against the

communists while Pakistan wished to

use American weight to counter-balance

Indian hegemonic designs in the region

Indeed throughout the early decades

Pakistan did what its national interest

demanded it to do. It refused to send its

troops to help Americans in the Korean

War in early 1950S – because that was what

Pakistan’s national interest demanded it to

do.

It again refuted American pressures and

pursued purely its national interest on its

‘opening up’ to Communist China in late

1950s. Henry Kissinger warned Pakistan of

committing a ‘grave mistake’ in this regard,

but Pakistan did not give a heed to it and

afterwards time proved Pakistan’s policy

on the Chinese issue to be on the ‘right’

track.

Scholars again accuse United States of

rushing advanced weaponry to India

in its war against China in 1962. If one

puts himself in the American ‘seat’ then

one realises that whatever Americans

did then, was ‘right’ according to their

national interests. India was fighting with

a communist country and United Sates

was at war (though it was ‘cold’) with

the communists throughout the world.

So what other options it had in this case

except to support India – though Pakistan

was also right in its accusation that it

was not ‘consulted’ before providing any

American weaponry to India, as was

agreed upon between the two.

Besides if India could have been ‘won’

and lured into the Western bloc by the

Americans, then it could have been a

big achievement for the United States.

Because India was a much bigger country

than Pakistan, and having a big ‘say’ in

the third world. Naturally United States

preferred India over Pakistan and it still

does so, not because of some personal

issues, but simply because that is what its

national interest demands it to do.

Similarly in the 1971 crisis, United States

did not come to Pakistan’s help – although

it had sent 7th Fleet to the Indian Ocean,

but the purpose seemed only to force

India not to escalate the conflict to the

West Pakistan.

If we read the American ‘declassified’

documents around the era, we find out

that the American public, along-with

the American diplomats and other State

Department officials, was continuously

demanding President Nixon to take a

“tough stance” against Pakistan because

of its actions in East Pakistan.

But President Nixon took the risk and

contrary to public pressure showed a

behaviour, what latter on termed as an

American ‘tilt’ towards Pakistan. He later

wrote on a memorandum “to all hands:

Don’t squeeze Yahya at this point”. Reason

of this behaviour of the United States

was simple; Nixon was using Pakistan to

‘open up’ to China at that time. Because at

the international level, American national

interests now demanded it to ‘befriend’

China, thus cornering Soviet Union, and

US did succeed in her efforts – although

to a certain extent.

Pakistan once again defied American

pressures and pursued its national interest

in its nuclear policy. When it decided to

go nuclear, United States left no stone

unturned to stop Pakistan from acquiring

the technology. But Pakistan simply proved

itself to be too slippery to remain clear of

the American pressures and developed its

nukes. Yet there is another view stating

that United States deliberately allowed

Pakistan to develop nuclear technology to

keep a check on ‘ambitious’ India – but the

facts state otherwise.

1980s Afghan Jihad – one of the most

controversial decades in the Pak-US

relations – was a true test of the nerves

for the diplomats at both ends. Pakistan

defined its national interest in supporting

the Afghan guerrillas against Soviet

supported government at Kabul.

After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,

Pakistan got a chance to be at a better

bargaining position with the United

States. The question here is that whether

Pakistan used the issue in the better way

to achieve the ends defined by its national

interest or not?

If one such ‘end’ was keeping Soviet Union

‘at bay’ and to abstain it from reaching

‘warm waters’ by attacking Pakistan, then

it was achieved.

If one such ‘end’ was the development

of the nuclear capability – United States

could not have risked antagonising

Pakistan because of its need in defeating

Soviet Union in ‘Soviet Vietnam’, thus it

had to close its eyes over Pakistan’s nuclear

development – then it was achieved.

If another such ‘end’ was to get the most

advanced technological weaponry from

the United States, then again it was

achieved. There have been reports that

Pakistan even managed to convince

Americans to sell them AWACS, but the

deal could not be materialised because

United States left no

stone unturned to

stop Pakistan from

acquiring the

NUCLEAR

TECHNOLOGY”


materialised because of the opposition

by certain groups in Pakistan. Pakistan

recently managed to buy the AWACS from

Sweden and China.

There is no denying the fact that the current

problems of Pakistan, mostly notably

the rise of militancy and the Kalashnikov

culture, are a product of Pakistan’s poor

handling of the issues then? But that is

how the state’s business is being done.

Even United States having one of the

world’s largest think-tank pool, and most

advanced technology could not predict

and avoid the ‘blowback’ of its policies –

right or wrong. Pakistan is no different.

Miscalculations have been made by the

statesmen throughout the history. But the

true wisdom lies in learning from those

mistakes and avoids repeating them.

Next accusation levelled by most of

the Pakistanis against United States is

that, they left the mess in Afghanistan

for Pakistan to deal with. Even American

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during

a Congressional hearing accepted it as an

‘American mistake’ to leave Afghanistan

in ruins.

United States was here in the region to

defeat Soviet Union. It succeeded in this

effort. During the decade it had closed its

eyes over Pakistan’s nuclear development.

But the Congress had already passed the

Pressler Amendment in 1985 demanding

American president to certify every year,

that Pakistan is not possessing a nuclear

weapon. Since passing the law, Presidents

Reagan and Bush Sr. had been providing

this certificate.

But when the need for Pakistan in

Afghanistan was over and American

minimum objectives were achieved,

President Bush Sr. found no further reason

to ‘lie’ to Congress, thus resulting in the

enactment of certain nuclear related

sanctions against Pakistan.

Since September 11, the national interests

of both the states again got redefined.

American sanctions against Pakistan were

lifted immediately. Pakistan took the

u-turn on its policy to support Taliban

regime at Kabul. American ‘war on terror’

had since then claimed thousands of lives.

In this war, United States accuses Pakistan

from time to time of playing a ‘double

game’. Once asked to comment on these

American accusations, a retired ISI chief

said that ‘Americans are also playing

double game with us. So why blame

Pakistan only.’ If this is what national

interest of Pakistan demands, then we

should not hesitate to do this.

Recent release of the Afghan Taliban from

Pakistani jails to facilitate the Afghan peace

process – and their refusal to go back

to Afghanistan and staying in Pakistan

instead – is also seen as an action on the

part of Pakistan to secure its interests vis-

à-vis Afghanistan.

As far as Pakistan’s overall policy regarding

Afghanistan is concerned, this is clear that it

has certain legitimate concerns regarding

Afghanistan. Besides fearing an anti-

Pakistan government at Kabul that might

fan the separatist elements in Pakistan,

they fear of a rising Indian influence in

Afghanistan, which has already reached

to a very high level – and they seem to be

right in this direction. Thus they wish to

preserve links with certain elements in the

Afghan power game.

United States now promised Pakistan of

maintaining a long-term engagement

with it. But those who think that it will

continue to support Pakistan economically

and politically – just like it is doing now

– even after American withdrawal from

Afghanistan, are making a mistake of

forgetting the history.

Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Professor of

International Relation in Quaid-i-Azam

university, Islamabad once opined that

with the withdrawal of American forces

from Afghanistan ‘there are ample chances

that the anti-Pakistan forces would be

able to convince the Western powers,

particularly, the United States to impose

nuclear related sanctions against Pakistan.’

As soon as American ‘minimum’ ends

are met in Afghanistan, it will reduce the

support to Pakistan to the minimum levels

of just making the both ends meet. So

the question arises that are we prepared

enough to deal with the mess left by

US after its withdrawal from Afghanistan?

Have we defined our national interests

in accordance with the changing

international and regional environment?

Have we learnt from the mistakes being

committed in the past and prepared

ourselves to deal to any sort of eventuality

– arising from both inside and outside?

It is only the ‘time’ which will answer these

questions, and will tell us that how the

policymakers in Pakistan will define or

redefine its national interests and whether

Pakistan will succeed in achieving the

‘ends’ set by those interests?

But one thing is certain that in dealing to

United States, Pakistan had to take care

of its own national interest – whatever

the situation may be. Rather the policy

of pursuing the national interest must be

followed in its dealing to any other state

– friend or presumed enemy alike. And it

seems that those at the helm of policy-

making in Pakistan – despite having a lot

of constraints – are aware of this fact very

well.

One of the most interesting dialogues

of the film sequel ‘godfather’ is that

“there is nothing personal, it’s all about

the business”. But the events in the films

suggest that it is always the ‘personal’

“coupled” with the ‘business’ that served

the ends. We will have to see that whether

it applies to Pak-US relations also or not?

Author is a PhD candidate of International Relations in France. He can be reached at [email protected]


ARTICLESCA

LL F

OR

[email protected]


hile entering the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi,

your vehicle is stopped for a routine security check.

A security personnel passes by your vehicle with an

“explosives detector” device. The device is made up

of a radio antenna attached to a piece of plastic and

is supposed to work like this: The security personnel walks by your

vehicle with the antenna of the device extended out in horizontal

position and if the antenna of the device turns towards your vehicle,

then your possessions are checked thoroughly for any explosives.

Well, more than 50% of the times, nothing dangerous is found

(dangerous as the Airport Security Standards also contain spray bottles,

like deodorant and body sprays, because this device sometimes points

towards them as well). This 50-50 chance of detecting the purported

explosives is nothing but ridiculous.

These sort of devices, according

to Michael Shermer, editor and

publisher of the Skeptic Magazine,

have been sold to the US Army

for around $60,000 a piece and

another version was being sold to

schools in America for detecting

marijuana in student lockers. As

Shermer says, if you check a large

number of student lockers, with

or without the device, you are

bound to find marijuana in some

of them. The same logic applies

to, detecting explosives employing

the above procedure.

The device in question is called

“Sniffex”, produced by Sniffex,Inc.,

that has been charged for fraud

by U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission. Famed magician and

the debunker of pseudoscience

James Randi discovered and

published online, the excerpts

from the U.S. Navy’s report on

testing the Sniffex for possible

military uses. The results showed the device to be worthless. Here are

the excerpts from that report:

“The test objectives were to evaluate the vendor’s claims concerning

the device’s ability to detect explosives. Testing was performed in a

manner consistent with the specifications of the SNIFFEX, and was

designed only to evaluate the device’s principles of operation, not

to test its limits……. …….the SNIFFEX handheld explosives detector

performed no better than random chance over the course of testing…

The vendor never suggested that the SNIFFEXs were malfunctioning

during any test despite the fact that the devices were not correctly

identifying the location of explosives… Based upon the observed test

results, the SNIFFEX handheld explosives detector is not capable of

detecting explosives regardless of the distance between the device

and any explosives… The antenna [on the SNIFFEX] is prone to

deflection from slight breezes, magnetic influences, and improper

handling. Furthermore the device is extremely susceptible to a well-

documented phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect…”

So how does the device “actually” work?

The Sniffex and other such

devices (ADE-651) are purported

to work on the principles of

nuclear quadrupole resonance

(NQR) or nuclear magnetic

resonance (NMR) but these

explanations have never been

proven or substantiated. The

only possible explanation is

“ideomotor effect” in the form of a

pseudoscientific technique called

Dowsing. Dowsing is a method

supposed to find underground

water, hidden treasures, oil,

minerals and grave sites by using

a Y or L-shaped rod, known as a

Dowsing Rod. Traditionally, most

dowsing rods were made of tree

branches, but modern dowsers

use metallic ones. The dowser

holds the two forked ends of the Y

in each hand and the stem of the

Y is pointed straight ahead. The

dowser then walks slowly over

the places where the targets (e.g.

oil, water, “explosive material”) are

suspected to be found. The dowsing rod is supposed to twitch, dip or

incline, when a discovery is made.

An earlier attempt for a scientific explanation from William Pryce’s 1778

Mineralogia Cornubiens is: The corpuscles that rise from the Minerals,

entering the rod, determine it to bow down, in order to render it

PSEUDOSCIENCE

AND THE THREAT TO PAKISTAN AIRPORT SECURITY

W FAISAL IRSHAD


parallel to the vertical lines which the effluvia describe in their rise. In

effect the Mineral particles seem to be emitted from the earth; now

the Virgula [rod], being of a light porous wood, gives an easy passage

to these particles, which are also very fine and subtle; the effluvia are

then driven forwards by those that follow them, and pressed at the

same time by the atmosphere incumbent on them and forced to enter

the little interstices between the fibres of the wood, and by that effort,

they oblige it to incline, or dip down perpendicularly, to become

parallel with the little columns, which those vapors form in their rise.

Explanations of this kind have no scientific basis. A 1986 article in

Nature included dowsing in a list of “effects which until recently

were claimed to be paranormal, but which can now be explained

from within orthodox science.”Dowsing, as is true for many other

pseudoscientific claims, could easily be explained in terms of sensory

cues, expectancy effects and probability.

Since the dowsing apparatus has no power of its own (being made of

ordinary matter), the effect is probably caused by slight movements of

the hands, caused by a phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect:

people’s subconscious minds may influence their bodies without their

consciously deciding to take action.There is another very interesting

psychological effect called, confirmation bias, which can also be a

sound explanation for this effect. People tend to find “evidence” for

their preconceived beliefs, by observing or confirming the information

that fits their preconceived ideas.

Returning to the ineffectiveness of Airport Security devices, let’s say

there are two cars approaching the Airport security personnel. One

car has a family with kids and the other one has only males. Which

car would be more probable to carry a security risk? Once the mind

is made up for the second “suspicious” car, the confirmation bias

and ideomotor effect come into play. If the “Sniffex’s” antenna turns

towards the car and after thorough checking some explosives are

found, then it is a “hit” and is considered a success. Otherwise, we tend

to forget the “miss”, unless the car explodes afterwards!

The ineffectiveness of such devices haspreviously been brought to

the notice of Pakistan Airport Security Agency, but they have declined

to accept it and are adamant at using these devices. The trouble lies

in our society’s indifference to the scientific research and method

of critical thinking. We are more interested in using technology,

rather than havingan interest in actual scientific methodology and

understanding of the world.

Author is a science enthusiast, with particular interest in Quantum

Mechanics, Evolutionary Theory and Einstein’s Theories of Relativity.

He has graduated as Software Engineer and currently works as MIS

and Analytics Manager in a bank. A LIST OF “EFFECTS WHICH UNTIL RECENTLY WERE

CLAIMED TO BE PARANORMAL, BUT WHICH

CAN NOW BE EXPLAINED FROM WITHIN ORTHODOX

SCIENCE.

SCIENCE, RATIONALITY AND MODERNITY

Islamabad, Pakistan (15:00 PST, Thursday, 21st of Feb, 2013)at Hotel Crown Plaza*, 99-E Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

SPEAKERSMobarak Haider (Author Civilizational Narcissism aka Tehzeebi Nargasiyat)

Dr. Khalid Masood (Ex-Member Pakistan Ideological Council and Judge Shariat Court).

TOPICSHistory, advantages and the need of Rationality for Muslims for the advancement in

Science and solution of contemporary problems in the context of modern world.

For any queries send an email to [email protected] or contact Mr. Shabbir Bukhari (Khudi Correspondent) at 051-2261066 (Khudi Office) or (+92) 305 5555 372

Alternatively, please text your name and organizational affiliations on this number (0344-4577552 or 03459585995) to get registered.


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