A Look at Pakistani Science Fiction
Starting the Series on Non-American Sci-Fi Authors
Join Intelligence Officer Brendan Sean Murphy as he voyages into space in a struggle for peace and his own sanity. My first novel Fallen is available for $0.99 digital and $14.99 on paperback.
Talking Non-American Science Fiction
Science fiction has long been a tool for cultures to envision how they would evolve and examine and comment upon contemporary issues. As I consumed more science fiction in various forms of media and met other authors, I began to appreciate the differences and similarities of foreign science fiction.
Motivated to learn more, I am contacting non-American scifi creators to get their comparisons of science fiction from around the world. If you are interested in being interviewed or know someone who would be, please reach out to patrick(dot)abbott(at)gmail(dot)com.
Interview with Omar Iftikhar
Starting this intermediate series, we have Omar Iftikhar of Pakistan. From his Amazon biography:
Muhammad Omar Iftikhar has over 500 articles to his name published in leading English-language newspapers and magazines of Pakistan ever since his writing career began on July 10, 2004. He is a regular contributor to print publications including Young World (Daily Dawn), US Magazine (The News), Pakistan Observer, Daily Times, South Asia Magazine among others and is a regular movie reviewer and critic at Express Tribune Blogs. He also contributes solicited write-ups to Gulf News. Omar’s writing genres include geopolitical and current affairs, technology, sports, personality development, social issues, and communication.
He has worked as Assistant Editor for Slogan Magazine and South Asia Magazine. He overlooked the content development process from developing and editing content to the publishing of each month's edition. While working in the digital media, Omar served as key member of the Content Development and Strategy team at Symmetry Group, Pakistan’s largest digital media agency. He was looking after the creative accounts and digital assets of major brands.
Some of Omar's finest achievements include winning the third prize in The News International’s US Magazine Short Story Writing Competition (2007) for his story ‘One of a kind’; standing third in the US Consulate’s Twitter Poetry Contest in May 2013, and being awarded an Excellence Award in the field of Journalism in a national contest conducted by The Youth Republic in 2013.
In February 2013, Oxford University Press, Pakistan published an anthology of 99 short stories titled, “Karachi: Our Stories in Our Words”. Omar’s short story, “The Dream” was part of this book, which was launched at the Karachi Literature Festival 2013. In May 2016, Omar’s short story “Defying the Order” was chosen as one of the best short stories at ‘The Stories Untold" – A Nationwide Theme Based Short Story Writing Competition’ organized by Daastan. Omar again featured at Daastan in January 2017 when his short story, “The Diligent Game” was selected as one of the best stories in the second season. In November 2017, Omar Iftikhar was one of the winners from Pakistan at NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), a US-based, annual creative writing project.
I interviewed Omar, discussing his book Divided Species, how his hometown Quetta fits into the story, and his thoughts on Pakistani science fiction.
Q. On a very surface level, people might think the plot could be a generic aliens come to Earth story that could be set anywhere. However, Karachi itself is a critical character in the story, and Divided Species would be very different if it was set elsewhere. What do you believe makes Karachi, the City of Lights and Paris of the East, perfect for the book's setting?
I chose Karachi to showcase it to the readers across the world. I have not highlighted any specific area other than a few (not saying here or it will be a spoiler). I wanted readers worldwide to experience the essence of Karachi and explore the city through the character's perspectives and mine as well.
Q. How does your Pakistani background influence your story creation?
Being born and raised in Karachi I know the city, its infrastructure, sights and sounds like the back of my hand. I wanted to be honest with my factual narrative of highlighting the city's landscape, urban and geographic aspects. I would not have done justice to my storytelling had I chosen any other country. My Pakistani background helped me describe the city effortlessly as I have become one with this city's essence.
Q. How do you think Pakistani science fiction differs from American and British science fiction?
Cultural aspects, historical context, and societal influences shape Pakistani science fiction narratives. In Pakistani science fiction, we see a combination of traditional folklore and contemporary issues. This fusion of tradition and modernity allows Pakistani sci-fi to explore speculative futures while staying rooted in its cultural identity.
Q. We have dwelt on differences, but what themes do you think are universal in science fiction?
Themes such as alien invasion, AI overtaking humans, space opera, utopia and dystopia, colonization of planets, time travel, and space exploration have been catching our attention and invigorating our curiosity.
Q. What is next for you?
A. Currently I am working on multiple literary projects including a fantasy-adventure novel. I am also fine-tuning my manuscript of short stories that made me one of the winners of the 2023 edition of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).
Q. What else do you want readers to know about you, Divided Species, or anything else?
I want to share about myself that I have been a writer and columnist for Pakistan's print publications since 2004 with over 1,000 articles published in my name covering a plethora of subjects. For Divided Species I want the readers to know that it is the first science fiction novel written by a Pakistani author that is set in Karachi, Pakistan.
Other Independent Book Promotions
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Until Next Time
Thank you for reading this newsletter post. Next time, we will continue the religion and aliens series by looking at Theozoology (see previous editions of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism and other Christian Groups, Islam, Judaism, the Dharma faiths, and Ancient Religions). After that, I will have some major Fallen and Risen news.
As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!
Great interview! Thank you for taking us into a different SciFi environment other than the Western world. I’ll definitely check out Muhammad’s book.