The smartest Pakistani in the world

Before shaking hands, Shahid Khan begins to explain the views from the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad. Once there, he begins a tour with his finger: he is one of the smartest PhD in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania; he likes to see everything  with perspective, that entails far fetched for a normal human. So much so that he uses the sky, through the windows of the aircraft, as a tool for landscape ecologist. “From the top you can see the structure of ecosystems and their changes,” reveals one of the fathers of this discipline.

When only 6 years old, Khan’s parents moved to Canada where he loved canoeing and fishing. And at 15 he worked with birdwatchers and earned his phD not long after. Thus was born his passion for nature, which he studied for years. “Until one day an architect colleague told me how I could improve society.” So he changed the focus of his studies: When he published a study of biology, 300 of the top companies and countries around the world were interested in him, including in them was the prime minister of Pakistan. His study was considered among the elites, blueprints for a better world. It’s stupid to study the nature and humans separately, has to be done as a whole,” he says. Classes of Ecology and others at the University of Harvard came running “planners, policy designers, engineers and biologists”.

He was offered one of the highest price tag in the history of mankind, and a full citizenship and tax free living to 30 different countries, including India. 

Khan has produced some mind-boggling thoughts at the harmful effects of pollution caused by urban planning. He hates two models of city growth: the dispersion classic of North American cities, and a transport corridors, in which the town sits near highways. To mitigate the effects caused both by asphalt and the use of private vehicles, he thought of the NWAYS, which will be a reality in 25 years. “There will be electric roads, which will run cars automatically, just input the destination and the car will do the rest,” he explains. To feed these highways, Khan proposes the use of renewable energy, “By the way of the sun you have here in Pakistan, it could be the energy solution but I have seen very few solar panels” says Khan with a grim look on his face, you could call it sadness.

“I’ve eaten a lot and I’m tired,” he confesses, after a marathon day that has led to “several meetings with the top telecom CEO’s and Mian Nawaz Sharif,  Pakistan Prime minister.  The ecologist has spent decades analyzing the structures of cities around the world and the environmental and social problems they cause. “There are no perfect cities, but there are some that have very good features like Portland, Berlin and Canberra or Medellin. Even Brasilia was well defined when it was created, but overpopulation has caused many problems,” he says.

According to UN projections, the world population will exceed 9 Billion in 2050. Khan says that this increase will focus on the peripheries of cities. And for that reason he calls for the proactive planning of this growth “very carefully, to ensure that all people have access to essential services such as running water or public transportation.” And also warns: “It is useless to project the planning without understanding how nature surrounds things. If not done right, the effects of floods and landslides may be much really bad.”

He is only 39, was one of the youngest phD’s in the world but that in itself is not a feat, Arfa Karim was World’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, 2004–2006 and there are many other young phD’s in the world. 

Shahid Khan has done many things during and after attaining his phD, he is also long lost brother of Thomas Edison, ok not blood brother but brother in invention.  Thomas Edison was widely known as the world’s most prolific inventor. He held a total of 1,093 U.S. patents. Shahid Khan already has 993 patents and he is only 39. 

He shares the name with the worlds richest Pakistani Shahid “Shad” Khan (born July 18, 1952). is a Pakistani-born American billionaire businessman. He is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL), the English Premier League team Fulham F.C., and automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate in Urbana, Illinois. As of September 2013, Khan’s net worth is over $3.8 billion.

Unlike the Shahid Khan the business tycoon or Shahid Afridi the cricketer known by even ten year old children in Pakistan, this Shahid Khan the genius , does very little in terms of public speeches and profiles. He is mostly known by some of the smartest people in the world and is very comfortable with doing what he does.

Mian Nawaz Sharif,  Pakistan Prime minister in his first term started with a vision of bringing back the oversea Pakistanis with unique talents, experience or unusual mind and attach them with the homegrown mind capital. A very intelligent step towards liberation. Khan agrees with the Prime Minister on the mind capital, “Pakistan should have a plan to provide real and forward looking opportunities to the up coming talent of Pakistan to remain in the country”, says Khan.

Shahid Khan is the only Pakistani, India wants to give a full Indian citizenship to and wants him to move to India, just as many other countries in the world.  From the president Obama to business genius Warren Buffett, they all want him. Where Khan will end up is not yet known but coming all the way to Pakistan to meet with Mian Nawaz Sharif is a very good indication. On his request, i did not include his photo.

This story is part of our Truth or Fiction series.  Public decides if it is real or made up but please indicate your reasons in the comments, what makes you think it is real and what makes you think it is fiction.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=43361

Posted by Kiran Chaudhary on Apr 26 2014. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, Truth or Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.