. Pakistan was hit by a nationwide blackout for more than two hours after the breakdown of a major plant caused power stations to stop working across the country,
On Sunday night, a large part of the country was plunged into darkness.
But while the lights went out in major cities, Twitter and other social media forums lit up with panic, or perhaps relish, as people started speculating on terrorist attacks, cyber attacks and even a military coup:
The panic spread quickly, and soon people started receiving text messages claiming that something wasnt right despite the fact that power outages, although not on the same scale, are a regular occurrence in Pakistan.
The blackout isnt the only phenomenon people think is the result of a conspiracy.
paku politicians and media also use the word saazish (conspiracy) regularly to talk about everything and anything. Across the spectrum whether from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) the countrys leaders speak of sinister plans to derail democracy, for example.
Even Interior Minister Rehman Malik and the right-wing conglomerate Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) see eye-to-eye on the foreign hand in Pakistan.
It appears, therefore, that unseen forces make up a major component of public discourse in Pakistan on television, in drawing rooms, and at public and political gatherings.
But how much of this is justified? Is it naïve, or even ludicrous to pin down the various ills Pakistan faces whether a weak civilian government, constant power outages, or terrorism to a conspiracy? Do these conspiracies have some truth to them?
Even if they are unlikely to be true, given Pakistans rocky political history, is it only natural for people to assume the worst when an unprecedented blackout occurs, like the one on Sunday?
After all, even a recent blackout in the US created a frenzy laden with conspiracy theories. The questions to ponder on is In Pakistan, are conspiracies the domain of the paranoid, or the realistic ?
-------) I can't believe Pakistani media openly discuss Conspiracy theories and open lies .....it must be worlds most liar media . they discuss US itself did 9/11 , India itself did 26/11 , when kasab was caught media/gov/people denied that he is pak_i after proved they say India imported him from Nepal.......hehehehe after every proof they invent new conspiracy on national tv channel very shamelessly .
Lights out, conspiracy theories in | DAWN.COM
On Sunday night, a large part of the country was plunged into darkness.
But while the lights went out in major cities, Twitter and other social media forums lit up with panic, or perhaps relish, as people started speculating on terrorist attacks, cyber attacks and even a military coup:
The panic spread quickly, and soon people started receiving text messages claiming that something wasnt right despite the fact that power outages, although not on the same scale, are a regular occurrence in Pakistan.
The blackout isnt the only phenomenon people think is the result of a conspiracy.
paku politicians and media also use the word saazish (conspiracy) regularly to talk about everything and anything. Across the spectrum whether from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) the countrys leaders speak of sinister plans to derail democracy, for example.
Even Interior Minister Rehman Malik and the right-wing conglomerate Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) see eye-to-eye on the foreign hand in Pakistan.
It appears, therefore, that unseen forces make up a major component of public discourse in Pakistan on television, in drawing rooms, and at public and political gatherings.
But how much of this is justified? Is it naïve, or even ludicrous to pin down the various ills Pakistan faces whether a weak civilian government, constant power outages, or terrorism to a conspiracy? Do these conspiracies have some truth to them?
Even if they are unlikely to be true, given Pakistans rocky political history, is it only natural for people to assume the worst when an unprecedented blackout occurs, like the one on Sunday?
After all, even a recent blackout in the US created a frenzy laden with conspiracy theories. The questions to ponder on is In Pakistan, are conspiracies the domain of the paranoid, or the realistic ?
-------) I can't believe Pakistani media openly discuss Conspiracy theories and open lies .....it must be worlds most liar media . they discuss US itself did 9/11 , India itself did 26/11 , when kasab was caught media/gov/people denied that he is pak_i after proved they say India imported him from Nepal.......hehehehe after every proof they invent new conspiracy on national tv channel very shamelessly .
Lights out, conspiracy theories in | DAWN.COM
