APRIL 24-30 2011
Faces of Evil
The real story of the cannibals of Bhakkar
16 FEATURE
REVIEWS
COMMENT
PEOPLE
THE HATER
APRIL 24-30 2011
Cover Story 16 Faces Of Evil The real story of the cannibals of Bhakkar 22 A History Of Horror Gruesome tales of the ultimate taboo
Politically Incorrect 28 Not As Crazy As We Could Be We should all be stark raving mad...but we aren’t
Feature 30 Wristy Business A determined girl makes Pakistan proud
Positive Pakistanis
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34 Gunning For Change A school gives Lyari’s youth a fighting chance
Humour 38 Physician, Gobbledygook Thyself! A visit to the doctor is never straightforward
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Travel 40 Scandal, Suicide and Sigiriya One of Sri Lanka’s tourist attractions has a unique and bloody history
Regulars 6 People & Parties: Out and about with Pakistan’s beautiful people 44 Reviews: What’s new in film 50 Ten Things I Hate About: Flying economy
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Editor: Zarrar Khuhro. Sub-Editors: Batool Zehra, Hamna Zubair Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Anam Haleem, Tariq Alvi, S Asif Ali, Samad Siddiqui, Sukayna Sadik Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi. For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk
PEOPLE & PARTIES
PFDC-L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2011 press conference
the PFDC Committee of the Executive d Maria B an i Al ad Chairperson of Sa DC Nickie, CEO PF Sehyr Saigol,
PHOTOS: FAISAL FAROOQUI
Abdullah
Business Unit Manager Professional Products Division L’Oréal, Sadia Shah
z
Asmaa Mumta
6 APRIL 24-30 2011
Chairman Avais Mazhar, ard bo of the PFDC
Ammar Belal and Fahad Hussayn
APRIL 24-30 2011
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Fahad Hussayn and Munib Nawaz
Faryal Hussain
Khawar Riaz
L’Oreal Pakistan Spokesperson Meesha Shafi
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Ali, , CEO PFDC Saad i, Shahzad Raza Al ed ar Sy rd en Ka re n eh ee M d Mah B an r Tiwana, Maria Nickie, Qasim Ya APRIL 24-30 2011
L’Oreal Pakistan Spokesperson Sabina Pasha and Nickie
APRIL 24-30 2011
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Standard Chartered’s Priority Night is held in Lahore
Guests at the
event
Nadia, Husnain Raza, and Mahvish.
Ali Zafar, Sameena Peerzada, Arif Lohar
Aysha Zafar
10 APRIL 24-30 2011
Ali Zeeshan
Aitzaz Ahsan with guests
APRIL 24-30 2011
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Natasha and Ali Habib
Frieha Altaf
Ali Zeeshan and Maram
Samina Pirzada
s
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Shar Atif with M Sadia APRIL 24-30 2011
Nazim Mahmood and Natasha
APRIL 24-30 2011
“[I deplore] anyone who imposes their own religious, political or moral ideals on others” Adnan Sarwar of Club Caramel on flying cockroaches and air conditioned pants.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
What is your most treasured possession?
Family, friends, race-cars and music! Not all at once of course.
My Gibson Les Paul Guitar.
That’s simply not possible. What is your greatest fear? To end up as a statistic.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Self-righteousness. What is your greatest extravagance? Auto racing. What is your current state of mind? Resolute and excited! What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Piety.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Self-pity. If you didn’t do your current job, what would you choose to do? I wouldn’t trade my life and its direction for anything else. Who is your hero of fiction? Umro Ayyaar. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Icarus. What is your greatest regret? Going to medical school and wasting years of my life. If given another go, I’d go to music school!
On what occasion do you lie?
What do you fear most, lizards or cockroaches?
I never lie. Honest!
Lizards are okay. Cockroaches are evil! Especially the ones that fly
Which living person do you most despise?
right at you.
Anyone who imposes their own religious, political or moral
What’s your favourite quote?
is deplorable.
It will not last the night;
ideals on others. I can give examples but it’s the mindset which
What is the quality you most like in a man? Intellect and a sense of humour. What is the quality you most like in a woman? The X Factor. When and where were you happiest? New Year’s 2009. HaadRin Beach, dancing with the devil! What do you consider your greatest achievement? I tested with and got selected as a driver for Pakistan A1 GP racing team in a Formula Race Car in China in 2006 while living in abject poverty. I did not own a road car at that time. Who are your heroes in real life? My two younger brothers. They are an inspiration and a living lesson in courage and perseverance.
My candle burns at both its ends; But oh, my foes, and oh, my friends — It gives a lovely light.
If you had a time machine, where would you go? Back to my time: the year 2169. What’s the one thing you wish someone would invent? Air conditioned pants and shirts. It’s going to be a hot summer. If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you take with you? A female companion, and I’d start working on populating the place.
If they made a movie on your life, who would you want to play your role? Moammer Rana. What would the movie be called?
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‘The Pursuit of Happiness’. a APRIL 24-30 2011
COVER STORY
faces of
evil
A few pages natio fictio of Bh
BY OWAIS JAFRI
Additional reporting by Ijaz Ali Ghorchaani and Usama Khan
12 APRIL 24-30 2011
w weeks ago, a gruesome news item buried in the s of local papers both shocked and horrified the on. We investigated the case, sifting fact from on, and unearthed the real story of the cannibals hakkar.
A GRIM DISCOVERY The grieving family of Nasreen Bibi, a 24-year-old cancer patient, may have thought they had suffered the worst when she succumbed to the disease, but their nightmare had only just begun. The morning after her burial, her family visited the Sheikh
Pir Graveyard in Kahawar Kalan to offer fateha prayers. Mak-
ing their way through the 640 year old graveyard to what they thought was Nasreen’s final resting place, they noticed that the fresh grave had been disturbed. It appeared as if someone had tried to excavate it and pull something out.
Ghulam Habib, the caretaker of the graveyard, was sum-
moned.
Habib had tended the graves for 30 years, but he was about to
admit to something he had been threatened never to reveal.
He told the distraught family that he suspected two men
were responsible – brothers Mohammad Arif and Mohammad Farman. Habib said he couldn’t divulge any other details, but the gateman at the nearby railway crossing may have more clues.
Bilal, the gateman, told the police he had seen Farman going
towards the graveyard, carrying a spade and other tools, and
while he suspected their motives, he never confronted them out of fear of retribution.
Arif and Farman were regular visitors to the graveyard, but
13 APRIL 24-30 2011
COVER STORY with a macabre motive that has shocked and appalled hundreds
who have heard their story: they had dug up Nasreen Bibi to eat her remains, and it seems she was not the only one who had fed their twisted appetites.
UNEARTHING THE TRUTH DPO Bhakkar Humayun Masood Sindhu and local SHO Abdul Rehman who investigated the case have the same version of
events, “We received a report that a corpse was missing from the
graveyard. We registered a First Information Report and arrived
at the scene. We followed their tracks and immediately raided the place that we believed the suspects had escaped to. When
we entered the house, we found Arif. The body was hidden in
the room. There were instruments there — a spade, a pick-axe, a knife and the wooden slab on which they butchered the body. At
the time we arrived, they had only managed to remove the flesh
from the leg. Under interrogation, Arif revealed that they had eaten some of the flesh and stored the rest to have for dinner. Farman was not there and we had to track him down.”
Villagers say the police also made use of the services of the lo-
cal ‘Khoji’, a traditional village detective, to track down the suspects.
In the videotape made at the scene, a clearly disoriented Arif
first tries to place all the blame on his brother, even denying that there was a partially eaten corpse under the shroud.
Under interrogation, he quickly changed his tune. The accused
revealed that they had eaten corpses in the past as well. They had
taken out the limbs of children from graves and eaten them, and had also eaten dogs and cats.
Now in custody, the details being revealed by Arif and Farman
to the police have disgusted investigating officers, who have never heard of cannibalism in the rural areas of Punjab.
According to the investigators, Arif and Farman had eaten parts
of almost 150 bodies that they had excavated from the graveyard. The number, others speculate, could be up to 250. Adding cre-
dence to this seemingly unbelievable claim is the account of the
graveyard’s caretaker, who says that out of the 283 graves in the graveyard, only 3 seem undisturbed.
They also allegedly ate the shrouds after writing religious vers-
es on them, in what seems to be a black magic ritual. They have
From top to bottom: A grave the brothers desecrated lies empty, DPO Bhakkar Masood Sindhu talks about the incident, one of the perpetrators is taken into custody, and the implements of their gruesome crime are displayed.
also revealed to the police that they also ate their own flesh in
small amounts, as well as their own hair. While it was difficult for them to digest bones, they used chemicals to metabolise and dissolve the bones and tough parts of the body.
FAMILY TIES Thirty-five-year-old Farman’s wife Rashida left him a day after their marriage, and they then divorced. His brother, Arif, was married to a woman called Iffat seven years ago. She left Arif and
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took her two children with her. APRIL 24-30 2011
The couple had four children, but two of them had died less
than a month after their respective births.
According to Iffat, the children were severely ill and were killed
by their own father and uncle. The brothers have confessed that they cooked and ate them.
One report claimed that they first ate the heads, and then the
brains.
Some even speculate that the brothers’ appetite for human
flesh led them to eat their own sister, Saira. According to the area’s residents, Saira — who was mentally disturbed — was allegedly gang-raped and became pregnant.
Just before she was due to deliver her child, the brothers alleg-
edly killed her. Her body was never found; leading residents to
speculate that she too, had been eaten by the cannibal brothers. Of the other sisters, Kaafia lives in Changa Manga, while Nusrat
and Tahira live in Bhai Pheru and Sargodha respectively. Nusrat
was in the village visiting her father at the time of the arrests, and while suspicion initially fell on her as well, she has been cleared by the police.
At first, their father Rana Khalil denied the entire story, claim-
ing to investigators that this was a conspiracy, a ‘magical’ plot to usurp the family’s property.
Later, he changed his tune and confessed that his sons had
beaten him up and tried to kill him as well, but he was saved by
others in the area. Rana Khalil also admitted that his sons ate the flesh of dogs and cats as well.
According to another report, Khalil, who lives with his eldest
son Rana Intizar, had bequeathed 18 acres of agricultural land to his sons so they would not be dependent on him. His wife died in
1981, leaving behind their children — Intizar, Arif, Farman and four daughters, three of whom are now married. The fourth was allegedly killed by her brothers.
LONG-STANDING SUSPICIONS While it was Nasreen Bibi’s family that first raised the alarm over the defiled grave of their loved one, locals now claim they always
had their suspicions, more so because there were no burials for
Arif’s two children, and that another six-month old baby’s body had gone missing from the graveyard.
ABOUT BHAKKAR District Bhakkar lies along the left bank of the river Indus on the border of Punjab and KPK. Its population is approximately 400,000. Khawar Kalan has a population of 10,000 people and is a village in sub-district Darya Khan (population: 150,000) and is part of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s constituency. He was elected unopposed from this area. Most of the residents are farmers.
Graveyard caretaker Ghulam Habib was unable to reveal the
truth because the brothers had threatened to kill him.
“I had seen them enter the graveyard several times during odd
hours with their tools – including axes,” he told The Express Tri-
bune. “When I tried to inform the area’s residents, the brothers attacked me.”
“They threatened to kill me if I tried to expose them. I re-
mained silent but I saw many defiled graves, many of which had no bodies.”
According to Habib, locals who discovered the truth had been
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threatened by the brothers as well.
APRIL 24-30 2011
COVER STORY One resident claimed that the brothers “never spoke to anyone,
but just kept to themselves for the last four years.”
He told The Express Tribune, “We had heard they used drugs, but
there was never any indication that they indulged in these activities… they never really bothered anyone.”
The brothers reportedly believed While no one in the village raised their voice, neither did Arif and Farman’s family. that by consuming human flesh, SATANISM, HUMAN FLESH AND HALWA they would gain the powers of This was not survival cannibalism, the brothers were not well-todo, but they could certainly feed themselves. There appears to be the Devil and become immortal, a far more sinister motive to their cravings for human flesh. The invisible and all-powerful. The fact brothers reportedly believed that by consuming human flesh, they would gain the powers of the Devil and become immortal, that they got away with their sick invisible and all-powerful. The fact that they got away with their sick crimes for so long must have only fed their delusions. According to an old-time resident, who spoke on condition of crimes for so long must have only anonymity, this was a belief of black magicians, who had told people that eating the flesh of humans and animals gave one imfed their delusions. mense power.
Farman and Arif told The Express Tribune that they were mentally
fit. They claimed that delicious dishes were made from the flesh
of human beings, and that they could only procure this meat from corpses. Otherwise, “we have to kill them and then eat
them.” Curiously enough, the accused claim that along with hu-
Legalese There is no mention of cannibalism in Pakistan’s crime laws. The accused were initially booked under section 16 of the MPO, and later also booked under 78AB (anti terror laws).
man flesh, their favourite dish is halwa from Dera Ismail Khan.
While Arif and Farman smoke hashish heavily, police officers
say they appear to be in control of their faculties. One police officer expressed surprise that the cannibals seem normal in all
other respects. “They even use the bathroom like normal people!” exclaimed the obviously puzzled policeman.
FEAR AND LOATHING IN BHAKKAR The curious case of the cannibals has not only horrified investigators, but has also spread fear and loathing in the area. Rumours
have spread in the district that the meat from the corpses was being sold in shops and restaurants. Others claim the shrouds were
sold back to textile mills. SHO Abdul Rehman says that this is the “worst case of my life”.
Other residents, who fear that the bodies of their loved ones
may have gone into the cannibals’ cooking pot, are planning
to file an application in the court of sessions judge, Hafeezul-
lah Khan, to get permission to exhume the bodies buried in the graveyard. While Nasreen Bibi’s family’s nightmare has only begun, the dread of their loved ones’ having been defiled is haunting the now infamous area of Kahawar Kalan.
20 APRIL 24-30 2011
Cannibali sm: The usually rit human fle ualistic e sh by a hu ating of man being flesh of an , o r the eating animal by of the another a kind. The nimal of t word ‘can he same nibal’ is a ‘caribes’ t v a r ia he name o nt of the f a West In word reported t d ian tribe t o have eat hat was en human for Cannib s. The tech alism is An nical term thropopha gy. Necropha gy: The p ractice of or carrion feeding o . n corpses Necrophil ia: An ab normal fo the prese ndness fo nce of de r being in ad bodies for dead b o r odies. Th an erotic is is also c desire alled Nec romania.
13 APRIL 24-30 2011
a history of horror
COVER STORY
The Donner Party In what has become possibly one of the most famous stories of survival cannibalism, members of The Donner Party resorted to eating human flesh during an arduous journey across America. In the winter of 1846, a group of pioneers set out for California in a wagon train. Stranded in the Sierra Nevada during winter, the party quickly ran out of food. Forty-eight of the 87 members of the party survived to reach California.
Albert Fish Fish was an American serial killer who was suspected of committing at least five murders during his lifetime. He confessed to three murders, and told police he had stabbed two other people. Among other things, Fish was addicted to self-harm and used to hear voices. In 1933 he was arrested for the murder of a young girl, Grace Budd. He said he had eaten her after he had killed her. In 1935, a jury found him sane and guilty of Budd’s murder, and he was sentenced to death. He was executed by electric chair in 1936.
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CANNIBALISM Professor Laurence Goldman, author of Anthropology of Cannibalism, discusses cannibalism and some common misconceptions. Is cannibalism something that has existed throughout the ages? “Most of the cultures in the world understand cannibalism as something foreign, as something that has a negative connotation. If you read any academic books on the subjects, some books say there is sufficient evidence that people used to eat certain parts of their enemies, like their livers, because they thought it infused them with greater energy... but evidence is actually extremely thin on the ground.” 12 APRIL 24-30 2011
“What compels people to resort to cannibalism? “I can only comment on the cultural aspects of cannibalism – I can’t comment on the acts of individual people who ate human flesh, these are people who are regarded as deviant, have complex personalities and indulge in what is known as sexual cannibalism. We don’t very often find these kinds of deviances, strangely enough, in non-western, non-developed countries though. There needn’t be any one rationale behind why people eat the flesh of other people. One explanation is survival cannibalism, where people resort to eating humans to survive. Then there is the kind of cannibalism where tribes used to eat the flesh of their enemies, perhaps to obtain their power, or it is simple a way of showing power over an individual, as if to say: ‘I can eat you.’”
Ed Gein This is the man who provided the inspiration for both the main character in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and also the character Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. But Ed Gein was real. A murderer, necrophiliac and cannibal, Gein was obsessed with the idea of becoming a woman, and stitched a full body suit made of human skin that he would wear in what has been called a bizarre transvestite ritual. He also stored the organs of his victims, which he would later eat. Gein was arrested in 1957 and died in a mental institution in 1984.
The survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 In a classic case of survival cannibalism, the passengers on board a chartered flight carrying 45 people including a rugby team, crashed in the Andes mountains on Friday 13th in October 1972. Once their meagre supplies ran out, survivors were forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions in order to survive. The crash site was not discovered by the authorities until two months after the incident, by which time only sixteen people were left alive. At least two movies and several books deal with this incident.
Can you comment on cannibalism in history? “Cannibalism in the Aztec civilization is written about a lot but all of the evidence and literature we have is from a colonial perspective. And the problem with colonialism is that it tends to demonise the other. When we read these texts, we have to understand where people are coming from... but I have to say that the idea of cannibalism has occurred to every single culture in the world.”
Can you comment on the Kuro disease that afflicted people in Papua New Guinea, and was said to have been caused by cannibalism? “Evidence of cannibalism in terms of the Kuru Complex is not sound - the Kuru complex was actually discovered in Papua New Guinea. A researcher said that Kuru, which is a strain of Mad Cow disease, was actually caused by cannibalism because people were eating the brains of other infected persons, but the evidence in that case was shown to be suspect, the individual who undertook that research was later indicted on child molestation charges which called into question his work, and was said to be the reason why he was in New Guinea in the first place.” 13 APRIL 24-30 2011
COVER STORY
Jeffrey Dahmer Dahmer was a notorious American sex offender and serial killer responsible for murdering 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. His murders involved rape, torture, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. Arrested in 1991, Dahmer was eventually sentenced to 957 years in prison. On November 28, 1994, he was beaten to death by an inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution, where he was being held.
Issei Sagawa Often referred to as ‘the cannibal who walked free,’ Sagawa murdered and cannibalised a Dutch woman named Renée Hartevelt in 1981 while he was a student in France. He was caught attempting to dispose of the body and was found unfit to stand trial on grounds of insanity. He was committed to a mental institution, but after being extradited to Japan, was released on a technicality. Sagawa is currently a free man, and has written several books, done a stint as a restaurant reviewer and is often called on TV as a guest commentator.
HOMICIDAL HEADLINES A collection of international headlines on cannibalism “A Decent Disposal” Australian, August 16, 1992 “Why Man Has Been Left off the Menu” Australian, Jan 14, 1998 “Is Cannibalism Too Much To Swallow?” New Scientist, 1991 “Cavemen Often Had People For Dinner” New Scientist, 1991 “Bones of Contention” Scientific American, May 25, 1986 “Butchered Bodies: Food or Fad?” New Scientist, Mar 26, 1981 “Does Man Eat Man?” Lingua Franca 5, 1997 12
“The People Eaters” New Scientist 3, 1998 APRIL 24-30 2011
Armin Meiwes “I am looking for a well-built 18 to 30-yearold to be slaughtered and then consumed.” That is what German national Armin Meiwes posted on a websites like Cannibal Cafe and Flesh and Bone in 2001. One man responded and the two got to work. Meiwes set up a slaughterhouse in his home, and stored parts of his victim’s body in his freezer, which he proceeded to consume over the next ten months. The entire slaughter was duly recorded on videotape. Meiwes was arrested in 2002, and was convicted of manslaughter in 2004. He is currently serving a life sentence. He also claims that human flesh tastes like pork.
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APRIL 24-30 2011
POLITICALLY INCORRECT
not as crazy as we could be BY HAIDER WARRAICH
The unusual episode of cannibalism in Bhakkar has been followed by the usual outrage. Predictably, it has led many to highlight the poor state of mental health in Pakistan. However, to really address this issue, we must be as creative as the very perpetrators of the act, people we would like to see institutionalised. There are several positives that can be taken out of this epi-
This episode is also unique in that it is possibly the only recent
national event not directly perpetrated by Raymond Davis (although this might be open to interpretation).
Finally, these two YouTube sensations have given the people
of Bhakkar something that years of Mughal, British or Pakistani rule have not — an identity.
However, to really understand Breakfast in Bhakkar, let us go
sode, which I shall tastefully call “Breakfast in Bhakkar”. It
back to the beginning and start with the definition of “normal”.
opposition have not spun this around into yet another attack
statistical aggregate, a series of behaviors and traits that tend to
is heartening to note that Chaudhry Nisar and the rest of the
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this episode is the direct result of rising meat prices in Punjab.
on the incumbents.
He has shown great restrain in not declaring that the cause of
APRIL 24-30 2011
According to the current Western model of thought, normal is a
occur most commonly amongst a large group of people. “People” are defined as Western folk, who are the basis of all psychiatric
We should be careful when criticising the Breakfasteers of Bhakkar lest a human-flesh devouring political action committee (Tehreek-e-Nifaz-eAdamkhori?) have their behavior categorised as normal.
that PTSD was present in 75 per cent of people presenting to a
psychiatric clinic in Peshawar. At first, unwittingly, I took the
research for what it stated — that just about every one in Pakistan is diseased. And yet, when I looked back at my own experience through medical school, and well, life, I could not think
of a single person who suffered from anything remotely akin
to PTSD. Having my own relatives taken hostage, my friends
caught in terrorist crossfire, and living through a constant stream of violent events, I could think of no one who had elicited such a response.
And that is because such a study, and I would reckon,
every research paper published from Pakistan and every
psychiatrist practicing in Pakistan, has done nothing at all to advance our understanding of our psyche. In fact,
by rehashing convenient half-truths, they have taken us several steps back.
To move forward, we need to stop indulging in the age-old
Pakistani practice of taking shortcuts and think of these issues classification and understanding, since practically all psychiat-
in our context and come up with long term solutions.
One research study that I found particularly compelling, pub-
ric research has been conducted on them.
lished in the Lancet, described a project that used lady health
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM), a collection
nancy. The success of this intervention revealed a solution that
The synthesis of modern clinical psychiatry is the “Diagnostic
of diagnostic criteria, which when fulfilled, allow for a physician to diagnose a person.
However, in its fourth edition now, the DSM has been con-
stantly evolving, and has been open to criticism on several levels. Several “conditions” that started out as being labeled
workers to alleviate depression that occurs in women after pregis uniquely ours and that can be scaled up to a national level. We
can wail and cry about the lack of psychiatrists in Pakistan, but that situation is not changing, and it is debatable whether more psychiatrists would make us more sane or less.
But take a step back from this man-eat-athon and you might
diseases (homosexuality, for example) are now considered
conclude, as I have, that Pakistan is really a very sane country.
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were introduced only after
omy, the hopelessness and the constant yearning for human
healthy variants of normal behavior while others such as post-
certain powerful lobbying groups pressed for them to be labeled as a diseased condition.
Therefore, we should be careful when criticising the Break-
fasteers of Bhakkar lest a human-flesh devouring political action committee (Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Adamkhori?) have their
behavior categorised as normal, and all of us outraged civilians come across as fascist bigots in historical retrospect.
Another weakness with the DSM, and consequentially, with
the entire model of psychiatry, is that it is almost entirely derived
What with the earthquakes, the bombings, the floods, the econflesh arising in the eager belly, you would expect, as some of my
foreign colleagues do, that there would be psychotic people running around naked on every Pakistani street corner. And while I
do realize that many crazies might be hiding behind bushes and beards, certainly the mental resilience of the Pakistani people needs to be commended. This statement, however, should not allow you to rest easy — far from it, because I fear sane people a lot more than the crazies.
Every society will have people like Mumtaz Qadri — but few
from, and based on, Western populations.
will have lawyers garlanding him en route to court, evangelists
Western world for, since it only highlights our own failings in
justify his actions and educated people setting up Facebook pages
This is not something that we in the Orient can criticise the
furthering our understanding of the mind. However, lazy sloths that we are, instead of actually understanding psychiatric disease in our indigenous cultural context, what with centuries
of events molding our minds to think a certain way, we apply diagnoses made for the likes of Charlie Sheen on our Ghafoors and Shakoors.
Consider this: a study published in a Pakistani journal stated
feting him on national television, newscasters finding means to in his honor. While the diseased certainly deserve our sympathy,
the sane do our derision. Something about these people makes me think they would taste really good with some adrak and laal mirch. a
Haider Warraich, a fellow in Harvard Medical School, is a graduate of the Aga Khan University, and author of the novel, Auras of the Jinn. 29 APRIL 24-30 2011
FEATURE
wristy
business BY OBAID UR REHMAN ABBASI
The story of a girl who made Pakistan proud against all odds.
“I can take part in the competition even with my broken wrist. Please let me compete,” insisted 15year old Ifra Wali, who had arrived in India with a 27-member ski team to represent Pakistan in the first South Asian Winter Games. In Auli, a ski resort in India’s Uttarkhand state, Ifra was prac-
ticing along with her elder sister Amina, 17, when she broke her wrist.
“Go to the hospital with the Pakistani officials,” I told her. “If
you’re fit, I’ll make sure you participate in the competition.”
But when the doctor announced that she had fractured her left
hand and needed a plaster, Ifra and the entire Pakistani contingent were shell-shocked. She had dreamt about competing with
international players in a big international competition and was
over the moon when she was selected to participate in the South
Asian Winter Games. We had all expected Ifra to win medals for the country. Now that possibility seemed remote at best.
But Ifra was adamant that she could perform in spite of her
30 APRIL 24-30 2011
broken wrist. When the medical report finally arrived, it con-
firmed that her left wrist was cracked and this only served to heighten the team management’s confusion. On the one hand, we were losing our star performer; on the other, we couldn’t
risk exacerbating her injury. Finally I, being the team manager, along with Naeem Sohail, the coach, called her father Col Wali who was in Islamabad and explained the situation. He left the decision entirely upto Ifra, saying that if she was willing then
Ifra proudly displays her medal above — and her plaster cast.
she may be allowed to participate.
Finally, the team captain Adeeba Junaidi decided that Ifra
should be allowed to participate. On hearing about her selection Ifra was overjoyed. “Believe me, I will do something for my coun-
“Yes I was worried about my broken wrist and could not sleep well due to the pain,” she added. “But I was determined to do something for my country and I thank Allah and my teammates,” she said proudly.
try even with this plaster on my left hand!” she vowed.
The next morning the team was apprehensive about Ifra’s
hand, which was covered with plaster. We asked her if she felt
up to the competition and with great courage, she assured us that she was in no pain and that she would manage. The competition started and she completed the first run successfully. On
the final run, she made history - not only had she beaten all the other players of South Asian countries, including Indian national champions and her own team members with a big margin,
but she won Pakistan’s first ever gold medal in any international skiing mega event.
Her elder sister Amina Wali came second and Indian national
champion and hot favourite, Miss Preity came third.
Amina said that before the competition started Ifra was up-
set but every member of the team including Adeeba Junaidi and
young Fatima Sohail raised her morale: “She was determined to win the gold and Allah has awarded her the same.”
Ifra told the Indian reporters: “I am overjoyed as my dream has
come true. I’ve won the first gold for my country and that too in India where success is sweeter.”
“Yes I was worried about my broken wrist and could not sleep
well due to the pain,” she added. “But I was determined to do
something for my country and I thank Allah and my teammates,” she said proudly.
Hailing from Naltar in Gilgit-Baltistan, the home of the win-
ter games, young Ifra is a student of Class X at The Army Public School in Gilgit. She started skiing when she was just four and was the children national champion for seven consecutive years,
collecting six gold, four bronze and three silver medals. At the Asian Children Games in Korea, she got fourth position. Amina too got international training from Japan, Korea and Austria.
“Before the game started, I never thought about my fracture
as I was only concentrating on the competition. When I crossed the finish line, I heard people cheering my victory and I can’t tell
you my feelings,” said Ifra. “When the Indian federal minister for sports gave me a gold medal and double silver to my sister APRIL 24-30 2011
31
FEATURE
The team in front of the slopes.
“When the Indian federal minister for sports gave me a gold medal and a double silver to my sister Amina, the national anthem played and Indian jawans saluted the soaring Pakistan flag — those were the happiest moments of my life. I will never forget that day,” said Ifra.
Amina, the national anthem played and Indian jawans saluted the soaring Pakistan flag — those were the happiest moments of my life. I will never forget that day.”
Currently, PAF is assisting the Ski Federation in Pakistan but
more facilities need to be extended in Naltar and Malam Jabba.
If a few resorts are built at skiing places, both the sport as well as tourism will benefit. The Civil Aviation authority has been active in this regard, and has given proper training to school kids for skiing. The air chief also gave Rs500,000 to each Pakistani medalist after the South Asian Winter Games.
Amina and Mir Nawaz Junior of the national ski team who
clinched one silver and one bronze medal are also of the view that a lift and repaired road are the main necessities for Naltar.
“If the government repairs the damaged road and proper funds
are allocated for a new ski lift, then Naltar can become the next international hub for winter games,” they said.
People who work in the sector are of the view that the gov-
ernment of Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan should come forward
and promote this great winter game. “We can produce dozens of Olympians like Abbas for the country who can compete against
any international ski player of the world,” says Mussarat Ali, sec-
retary-general of the Ski Federation of Pakistan. “The federation, with the help of PAF, has registered almost 150 children and they
are now ready for necessary training. Some government depart-
ments like CAA and the Navy have shown interest in taking them
in their teams. If this happens then I am sure they can form the future national team,” he says. a
32 APRIL 24-30 2011
POSITIVE PEOPLE PAKISTANIS
gunning for change A bustling school gives the youth of Lyari an important lesson — that they have the option of turning away from gang wars and drugs. BY SAHER BALOCH
“The school that you see here used to be a den of heroin addicts and petty criminals before we arrived on the scene,” says Ejaz Raza proudly as he points towards a small gate. In the congested Shah Baig Lane of Lyari, people rush about
their daily business, glancing sideways to make sure they don’t
34
collide with a speeding rickshaw or galloping donkey cart. APRIL 24-30 2011
“We started sitting inside to give an impression that it (the
building) is ours,” says Raza. Only a few got the message and
they finally had to seek the help of Additional District Executive Officer, Asadullah Bhutto to acquire the land and help get rid of
the addicts. Once people saw they meant business, the floodgates opened.
“The money came from local residents. Everyone pitched
in, right from the paan-stall owner to the school opposite us. Even unemployed people who just laze around all day also lent a
hand,” says Ghulam Fareed, the finance secretary of the school. With a straight face he adds: “I had to justify my designation, after all.”
Ignoring Fareed’s quip, Afshari starts complaining about the
dearth of schools in the area and the lack of state attention. “All this talk about bringing a change in the school system is com-
plete rubbish. We are on our own when it comes to thinking about the future of our children,” he fumes.
And he seems determined to leave the government sector in
his dust. He says his school has a Montessori, “which cannot
be found in any other Government-run school,” and also of-
fers coaching classes. Language is taught by an immaculately dressed man who, on being asked, politely told me that he be-
gan his teaching career holding classes on the roof of a friend’s
Before ushering me inside the school-gate Raza, whose youth-
ful looks mean that can easily pass off as a student himself, introduces himself as the General Secretary of the Educational and Welfare Society.
The gate opens into a narrow hallway, and I expect the hall-
way to open into a modest yard with a few ramshackle buildings. Instead, I am greeted by a huge playground surrounded by row after row of neat, solid-looking classrooms.
Home to 600 children, the Shah Baig Lane Educational and
Welfare Society is the brainchild of six determined people working single-mindedly to provide education to the poor children of Lyari. It’s a labour of love, and while the success of the project is
now attracting donors, the society started off with no resources at all.
“It was not at all easy,” says Ghulam Nabi Afshari, an ever-
smiling old man who is the President of the society. “But it was better to use what meager resources we had rather than beg for money or try to have people take pity on us.”
Where others saw only a dilapidated building that was being
used as a garbage dump, the six-member group imagined a bustling school. The building was already occupied by heroin addicts and petty criminals, but that didn’t discourage them.
35 APRIL 24-30 2011
POSITIVE PEOPLE house. “But when this school opened, I was asked to teach here
and my students followed me.” The school fee is Rs200 but it can be reduced depending on the income of the students’ families.
The spirit of volunteerism that the staff has is inspiring; a
maid comes all the way from Liaquatabad after taking two different buses, just to sweep and clean the floors… for free. Most of
the teachers are also volunteers who come in for two hours in the morning to teach.
The students themselves come from both the neighborhood ar-
eas as well as from further afield. They include three-year-olds
and thirty-year-olds alike. Most of the children come from either broken homes or orphanages, while some of them have lost their
“The money came from the local residents. Everyone pitched in, right from the paan-stall owner to the school opposite us. Even unemployed people who just laze around all day lent a hand.”
family members in the all too regular violence that plagues Lyari. Mention the gang war and the smiles fade away as if by magic.
“You mean to ask whether this so-called “gang war” has had
any impact on us?” asks Afshari in an icy tone. I nod in affirma-
tion and he grows silent. A few seconds later he says the term
parties in which the people are left to fend for themselves. And
“There is more to Lyari than gang wars. We have a history of
hope in the youth by teaching them skills that will take them
gang war has been severely misused.
producing scholars, professors and sportsmen who have been leaders in their fields, but to an outsider Lyari is all about gang
that’s exactly what these people are doing — trying to re-instill away from a life of poverty and crime.
The language teacher spoke about one of his students who
wars,” he says vehemently, looking at the others in the room for
joined a gang. “After pleading with him I finally managed to
Raza adds that this is an “ideological war” between political
not bear the thought of him lying dead in a street corner.” His
support.
bring him out of their clutches as I knew his father, and could efforts eventually paid off and the student is now in the United Kingdom, working as a system engineer.
But not all the stories have a happy ending. Fareed says that
they can convince young people once or twice but with rampant poverty and unemployment all around them, the kids simply stop listening after a while. “The motivational speech we give them in such circumstances becomes just that: an empty speech.”
“We could not control the ones that we lost in the past,” said
Afshari referring to the ones who took up arms after getting tired of unemployment, “but we can surely guide these children towards the right way.”
A screech from the nearest Montessori class distracts us, di-
verting our attention from gang wars and political neglect to a little girl reciting a poem in a high, shrill voice. In this little corner of Lyari, hope still remains alive. a
If you know of any people who have achieved something positive, either for themselves or for those around them, please mail us at magazine@tribune.com.pk and help us share their story with the world.
36 APRIL 24-30 2011
HUMOUR
physician, gobble
38 APRIL 24-30 2011
edygook thyself! Sometimes a visit to the doctor leaves you wondering who the expert is.
BY AA SHEIKH
Now that the white coat strike that engulfed most of Pakistan is over, we can all be happily sick again. Yippee! Ah, the sheer joy of being down with an ailment with a fancy name and being seen by a smug, grim-faced physician with fancy degrees and fancier fees and taking meds with even fancier names and prices! I missed all that, so I went to see someone for a minor skin rash. I got a thorough examination, replete with detailed, magnified observations of my epidermis, totally worth the four-digit consultation fee. The physician in question, who literally lives off other people’s skins, gave me a rather archetypal grave, bespectacled look. “From what I can tell,” he said, stroking his neatly-preened,
fashionably-cropped beard, “you have atopic vesiculovulgarodisgustodermatosis.”
I was dumbfounded. “What-a-mosis?” I exclaimed, alarmed yet
heard dermatologists always make rash decisions.
Not quite having lost my faith in doctors, I decided it was time the
wife got a medical check-up. No one can remain indefinitely healthy without something sinister and un-pronounceable lurking within
their system. So without further ado, and fearing a possible strike by the Old Doctors’ Association, we reported to a gynaecologist. Her
clinic was decked with pictures of cherubic Nido-esque babies with
posters and flyers claiming that, by the grace of the Almighty, you could have the baby of your choice delivered to you. Yes, the pun is mine but the ads were serious. They touted a new ‘computerised,
scientific’ technique that ensured not just fertility but picture-perfect male babies. The mastermind — mistressmind? — of this revolutionary method was a heavily-made up lady with dyed-hair who exuded authority, gruffness and a short attention span. “Should
a woman have babies after 35?” was my first query, as the wife,
unbeknownst to most, had recently achieved this milestone. “No,” the gyno shook her head. “Thirty-five kids are enough!”
We realised that we’d reached some kind of medical freak and
rather pleased at the prestigious-sounding disease.
decided to leave, but the doc insisted on giving the wife a thor-
terms. The Langerhans cells in the strataspinosum of your epider-
by characters perennially named Igor in successive B-movies. We
The dermatologist offered a plastic smile. “Let me explain in lay
mal tissue have auto-immunised themselves against the papillary and reticular layers of your dermal tissue leading to a fulminant yet
localised bulbovesiculopustular inflammatory reaction. It’s a rare condition. There is no known cure, as such.”
I eyed him with an increasing sense of the finiteness of life. “So
you’re saying…?” I ventured.
“Your rash is incurable. However, it’s quite treatable. I’ve got
a specially-prepared ointment for conditions like yours. It is only available at my clinic and is a tad expensive, but it’s highly effective as long as you use it continuously thrice a day for months on end. I can assure you, you’ll be fine. Just keep visiting regularly.”
I left his clinic considerably poorer and with a gnawing sense
of foreboding. He seemed qualified and all, but I don’t know. I’ve
ough check-up. Her tone was oddly reminiscent of that employed
thought of the exorbitant consultation fee we’d just paid and decided to stay. I was thankfully turned out during the examina-
tion procedure and by the time I returned the verdict was clear. My wife, the doc announced in all bleakness, was suffering from endoexpensodiabolicometriosis, a rare condition that involved
“severe endocervical epithelium and stroma replication and inflammation” and needed a lot of meds and expensive surger-
ies to fix. But the wife is perfectly fine, I insisted. “That’s what you think, mister,” the lady snapped. I was reminded of all the
classic Disney witches. Except that they were less rude and somewhat better-looking.
We left the clinic with a hefty prescription of tests, meds and fol-
low-ups, hoping for another white coat strike, soon. a
39 APRIL 24-30 2011
TRAVEL
scandal, suicide and
sigiriya
The history of one of Sri Lanka’s World Heritage Sites is a fascinating tale of family feuds, deception and murder BY UNUM MUNEER
Imagine, if you will, a sky-high fortress shrouded in juicy, blood curdling scandal. There is no wonder why UNESCO named the fortress city of Sigiriya one of Sri Lanka’s seven World Heritage Sites. Precariously perched at a whopping height of 370 kilometres Sigiriya is often referred to as "the palace of the skies". The entire city and palace were built on and around a granite peak in the fifth century AD. It takes modern day explorers a grand total of
with recorded facts to create this structure’s turbulent history...
used by the king himself to watch over Sigiriya... Legend mixes
lon to himself. He promptly shifted the country’s capital from
1,200 steps to reach the very top. This was the vantage point once
It all started with Kassapa, the illegitimate son of King Dha-
tusena of Ceylon. Kassapa could never be the legal heir to the throne, and would have, in an ideal world, simply had to sit back
and watch his half brother Mogallana take over one day. However, he did not let this technicality hamper his thirst for power...
With some encouragement from his cousin, Kassapa resorted
to patricide: he had his father walled up while he was still alive,
and left him to suffocate. Mogallana fled to South India after
hearing the news. This meant that Kassapa now had all of CeyAnuradhapura to Sigiriya, which is the first time large-scale development took place in the area.
Kassapa’s main reason for the switch was that it helped him
start from scratch to create an unassailable fortress city. He
wanted to use the height and ruggedness of the granite terrain to his advantage. Even now, tour guides eagerly point out guard
posts and strategically placed boulders once used to keep Kassapa’s enemies at bay. This military machismo is also reflected
in the structures main aesthetic choice. The word Sigiriya liter-
ally means “the lion’s rock”. One of the main entrances to upper Sigiriya was shaped like a massive lion’s head, with lion’s claws
carved out on either side of the staircase. The claws still remain on the modern day ruins, each the size of a Jehangir Kothari pa-
rade. They look majestic, threatening and ready for action, as if
40 APRIL 24-30 2011
they never realised that the king they were made to defend died centuries ago.
Along with being a military stronghold, the area grew to be an
important cultural site. More than halfway up the rock, climb-
ers are ushered into an alcove to see “the maidens of the clouds”. This is the title given to frescoes of 21 unnamed women; the
painting style for these is so unique that UNESCO states the artists ushered in a method which lasted for centuries in the area.
The “Mirror Wall” stands close to these paintings, it is a long
stretch glazed with porcelain-like substance. It was designed to let King Kassapa watch himself as he walked by it. However, after his reign, it became a common spot for Sinhalese graffiti
With some encouragement from his cousin, Kassapa resorted to patricide: he had his father walled up while he was still alive, and left him to suffocate.
poems. These ancient verses have proven to be an important historic source of information about Sigiriya.
Some of the graffiti refers to there actually having been 500
women in Sigiriya’s frescoes when they were originally made.
The identities of these women are disputed; some scholars say they represent heavenly nymphs. Others argue that all these women actually served in the palace as the kings concubines.
Whether or not Kassapa went to the extent of having 500 con-
cubines, he certainly did ensure that Sigiriya was a site for op-
ulence and pleasure. Even now a series of small walls indicate that the palace had dance halls and luxurious bathing pools for his harem. That being said, Kassapa’s party did not last all that
long, and he was vanquished after spending just 11 short years in Sigiriya.
Mogallana had returned from India with a strong army. Kas-
sapa engaged him in battle but lost due to tactical errors. He then committed suicide by slitting his own throat.
After Kassapa’s death, Mogallana shifted the capital back to
Anuradhapura. Sigiriya was handed over to the Buddhist monks
and was used as a monastery. Their religious presence was so strong that some experts now argue that Sigiriya never existed as a fortress to begin with.
In Kassapa’s defence, there have been recent theories painting
him out to be more than just a patricidal playboy. Some argue
>>What to expect if you plan to travel to Sri Lanka: A Pakistan International Airlines flight to Sri Lanka will cost approximately Rs35,000, whereas an Emirates flight could set you back about Rs65,000. The exchange rate between the Pakistani and Sri Lankan rupee is 1 = 1.31142, which means this is the closest you can come to a truly wallet-friendly vacation.<<
42 APRIL 24-30 2011
that he mistakenly killed his father in battle because of Mogal-
lana’s misdirection, and that Kassapa actually built Sigiriya as a tribute to his father. The theory states that it was always King Dhatusena’s dream to build a “heavenly palace”.
The passage of time may have weathered Sigiriya but the sight
of the ancient plateau against the lush green landscapes is still
breathtaking. What’s more, the mystery and legend that surround it cannot help but grow richer with age. a
REVIEW
a life in review
film i scream, you scream BY ZAINAB IMAM
A slasher flick is not supposed to leave you in fits of laughter. But Scream 4 does. Central character Sidney Prescott, who has written a self-help book, returns to the fictional town of Woodsboro for a book tour. She reconnects with Sherriff Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), who have married, and new characters are introduced such as Sidney’s teenaged cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and Jill’s high-school friends. But Sidney’s return to her old hometown, where she has witnessed gory murders, including those of her mother and close friends, also marks the return of Ghostface. The entire town is now in danger again and many inhabitants feel Sidney made the wrong decision by returning. Olivia, one of Jill’s high school friends, even calls Sidney ‘the angel of death’. While her popularity in the town is evident, it is clear that people are curious about Sidney. One high-school girl even wonders ‘how many scars she must have’ after all that she’s gone through. And frankly, as an audience member, I wondered why she would even want to come back to a town she has such nightmarish memories of and was lucky to have survived three times? More significantly, once Ghostface returns, why doesn’t Sidney immediately decide to leave instead of jeopardising the lives of almost the entire town and causing a re-run of the horrifying events of the first three sequels? The other thing that I wondered was this: who made the colossal mistake of hiring Sherriff Dewey as part of the Woodsboro police force? Not only is he not able to put two and two together quick enough, the speed of the police force is reminiscent of the Bollywood movies of the 1970s where the police invariably get to the crime scene so late, one wonders if they are coming from another city. The time lag between the Woodsboro police receiving information and acting on it was ten seconds but the police would always 44 reach the scene of crime until after someone’s guts have been split. APRIL 24-30 2011
it doesn’t get old Despite a gap of 11 years between Scream 1 and 4, writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven manage make the film enjoyable
Horror movie sequels and prequels to look forward to in 2011 1. Alien Prequel 2. Paranormal Activity 3 3. The Ring 3D 4. Underworld 4
REVIEW
The film gets a ten-on-ten in the suspense department. There are only a couple of characters that are made out to be suspicious, unlike the previous Scream movies where every character was a suspect. 46 APRIL 24-30 2011
However, I would give the film a ten-on-ten in the suspense department. There are only a couple of characters that are made out to be suspicious, unlike the previous Scream movies where every character was a suspect or Scream 3 where, at some point, the audience was led to believe that the killer could be Sidney herself. Right until the very end, it is impossible to guess who the killer is and what their motive could possibly be. The ending is sort of draggy but between Sidneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fighting skills and Deweyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredibly daft questions, it is quite an entertaining climax. All in all, despite a gap of 11 years between Scream 1 and 4, writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven manage to recreate the same feeling as that in the first film. I enjoyed seeing Dewey, Gale and Sidney back on screen together while newer members of the cast also deserve a mention. Scream 4 is highly recommended whether you are a fan of the horror movie genre or are just out for some good old-fashioned entertainment. a
REVIEW
THE HATER
10 things I hate about ...flying economy
1 2 3 4 5
Seeing the itchy and scratchy show from almost all the men on the plane. We know you’re uncomfortable,
sitting in such close quarters with so many people on such tiny seats. But do you have to start from the moment the plane takes off?
People who get up as soon as the plane takes off and
grab as many seats as possible to sleep on. What makes you think you deserve four seats while I have to sleep in a fetal position on my 10 centimetre seat?
Never finding the guy who steals all the toiletries in
the lavatory, extra blankets, headphones, and even your life jacket within the first fifteen seconds of the
flight. God knows where he’ll be using that once he’s off the plane!
The army sergeants they call airhostesses. It seems
as if they round up the rudest, most incompetent and slow staff from the entire country to serve in the economy section of the plane.
How the little TVs in front of everyone work perfectly
. . . except yours.
50 APRIL 24-30 2011
BY SABA KHALID
6 7 8 9 10
Running into the ex-boyfriend when you’re drooly, snotty and sleepy, jumping on one leg, hoping that the vacant light would flash right about NOW!
The pokemons at the back who decide to give you a
special pokey-finger massage from the back of your seat when you’ve finally fallen asleep.
Even the landings are more chaotic and shaky at the back of the plane!
Despite all the warnings, safety drills and airhostess
barks, the entire crowd will get up before the plane touches the ground and get their bags out of the overhead compartments as if someone else will run away with them.
The fifty conversations that ensue on quickly switched
on cell phones as soon as the plane lands. “Haan puttar, mein agaya!” To which all ‘puttars’ reply, “Meray liye kia laye?”
a