Bogus bomb detectors are security risk, says Sherry Rehman

“The continuous use of bogus bomb detectors to secure high-risk facilities such as airports and government installations has recently come to light in the media,” said opposition Pakistan People’s Party senator Sherry Rehman.

Pakistani has built and sold more than 15,000 of the so-called “Khojis” bomb detectors, earning millions in revenue. But the technology they use was exposed as a sham years ago in a global scandal.

“This is a serious security risk that endangers the lives of millions of people and merits an immediate response from the Minister on the floor of the House,” she wrote in a formal notice to parliament.

Rehman said she would quiz the government on the issue at the next session of the senate on August 22.

Many creators of the original devices are serving long prison sentences for fraud, including British businessman James McCormick. His ADE-651 became a mainstay of security forces in Iraq, where $85 million was spent on them, before they were officially banned last month.

Pakistan’s variant device, known as the “Khoji”, claims an accuracy level of 90 per cent, but uses the principles of radiesthesia, or dowsing, which experts consider junk science.