One wonders how one human being can kill another human being and that too with such ruthlessness. These are 'special human beings' who are remorseless, emotionless, cold and without humane feelings. From a psychological perspective, these human beings are known as 'psychopaths'. Unfortunately, Pakistan is having a huge number of psychopaths who are found everywhere and can be hired for any inhuman operation. These people are identifiable if someone was looking for them. Politicians and political parties do harbour these people who are used as 'predators'.
A while ago, a film by the name of 'Silence of lambs' was produced which depicted the deeds and horrors of a violent man who had committed brutal acts without mercy and compassion. This character was called 'psychopath' who fulfilled the text book defined criteria of being labelled as such. Such characters are seen everywhere in Pakistan. They are described as unstoppable and untreatable predators whose violence is planned, purposeful and emotionless. This nature continues until it reaches a plateau at age 50 or so and then tapers off.
What type of individuals are these and why do they behave in such a way? They are detached, fearless; tend to operate with grandiose demeanour, an attitude of entitlement, insatiable appetite and a tendency towards sadism. These individuals do not respond to punishment, apprehension, stress or disapproval. They are daring, adventurous, unconventional people who began playing by their own rules early in life, they seem to fly into a rage or frenzy, they also exhibit powerful cravings and at times can be charismatic, charming and attractive liars. The major feature of their personality is ruthlessness with no guilt or remorse. On the contrary they derive pleasure by even killing people. The brains of such individuals are affected by abnormal chemical activity and neurological abnormalities in the frontal lobe of brain. Before the age of 13, they display a variety of behaviours including lying, theft, cheating, vandalism, bullying, sexual activity, fire-setting, glue-sniffing, alcohol use and running away from home.
There is also a strong genetic basis for criminal tendency as evidenced by the scientific studies. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that is associated with pleasure and also with aggression. Conduct disorder that is characterised with an individual's violation of societal rules and norms and this disorder is a risk factor for future criminal activity. The environmental factors also influence the genes and result in such a personality disorder. The adverse environmental circumstances play havoc with the development of the personality and lead to a number of issues in terms of antisocial manifestations of behaviour among adults.
Women tend to be less physically violent but same genetic and environmental factors play in the developmental of a woman psychopath with all criminal outbursts. It is said that 'though justice system is heavily loaded with male criminals, women are still part of 'criminal world'.
There is no study or statistics available in Pakistan to determine the number of psychopaths though one anecdotal report about ten years ago mentioned the prevalence in the range of 17% of the population. This was a very high figure but looking at the current scenario and happenings in Pakistan, one is tempted to believe that figure could be much higher. If this is so, then, we as a nation are sitting near a time bomb that can explode any minute and engulf us in its flames.
The pertinent question is: how should we address this problem? The answer is not easy or straightforward. The psychopaths are not treatable by conventional psychotherapeutic means or by medications for that matter. The best possible solution is to identify these individuals with the help of legal system and to cordon them off from the population through legal frame work. A therapeutic community can then be established within the prison system for these individuals who may be offered a number of personality remedial sessions, tailored psychotherapy, application of behaviour modification techniques and appropriate medications for anxiety and related mental disorders. Once acquitted from prison, probation or parole officer should monitor them in the community for a significant length of time.
Our society will remain unsafe as long as the psychopaths hired by politicians and rulers will perpetrate their reign of terror. Identification and elimination of such individuals from society may be easy in a way but what about those psychopaths who belong to ruling class, law-enforcing forces and elected to decide the fate of the nation. These are the living human bombs existing all round us. Let's be more alert and watchful.
(The writer is a Professor of Psychiatry at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.)