In Pakistan, lights out but humor on amid hours-long power outage 

Shopkeepers sit at a market during a nationwide power outage, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 23, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 23 January 2023
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In Pakistan, lights out but humor on amid hours-long power outage 

  • A major power breakdown hit the South Asian country early Monday morning
  • In stark contrast, Pakistanis flood social networking sites with hilarious memes

ISLAMABAD: Social networking sites in Pakistan flooded with memes on Monday as people hit by a nationwide power outage searched for a way through the crisis, demonstrating their utmost sense of humor amid the blackout. 

Electricity was turned off across the country during low usage hours overnight to conserve fuel across the country, leaving technicians unable to boot up the system all at once after daybreak, officials said. 

The outage was reminiscent of a massive blackout in January 2021, attributed at the time to a technical fault in the country’s power generation and distribution system. 

But Monday’s blackout failed to dampen the spirit of Pakistanis who took to Twitter to share some hilarious memes. Here are some of them: 

“When we engineers tell you to turn it off and on again to see if it works properly, WE DIDN’T MEAN THE WHOLE COUNTRY,” Aon Sayyed, a Twitter user, took a jibe at authorities. 

Another one was glad at not wearing clothes that usually require ironing. 

People in some parts of the country experienced fluctuations in power supply. They too did not spare the chance. 

“It returned!!!,” said Arifa Noor. 

“And I was sprinting to the coffee machine when it left as abruptly as it had come… ufff.”

The mania apparently reached a point where the country’s energy and religious affairs ministries faced off each other on Twitter. 

“The restoration of Warsak grid stations has been initiated and in the last one hour, limited number of grids of the Islamabad and Peshawar [electricity] supply companies have been restored,” the energy ministry said on Twitter. 

But someone at the religious affairs ministry was quick enough to update their counterparts, saying: “Still waiting for electricity.” 

While some Twitterati were concerned about diminishing power percentage of their gadgets, those who had their devices fully charged-up exuded confidence in their own hilarious way. 

 

A Twitter user, Adeel Ghouri, gave a whole new twist to the breakdown, connecting it with the recently released Indian spy thriller ‘Mission Majnu’ that has widely been called out in Pakistan for its poor research on the Pakistani state and society. 

“Mission Majnu’s Siddarth had come to destroy a [Pakistani] nuclear facility, but some Lahore resident misled him to a power plant,” Ghouri said. 

“He has destroyed the power plant and returned.” 

 


Pakistan urges developed nations, global institutions to expand role in climate financing

Updated 07 December 2025
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Pakistan urges developed nations, global institutions to expand role in climate financing

  • Pakistan is recognized among countries worldwide most affected by climate-induced disasters
  • Planning minister stresses redesigning global financial system on principles of responsibility, equity

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal this week called on developed nations and international financial institutions to play a greater role in helping developing countries adopt green technologies at lower costs, state-run media reported. 

Pakistan has suffered frequent climate change-induced disasters over the past couple of years, ranging from floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones and other irregular weather patterns. 

This year the South Asian country reported over 1,000 deaths from floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains and the melting of glaciers. 

“He [Iqbal] said Pakistan has urged developed countries and international financial institutions to expand their role in climate financing to enable developing nations to adopt green technologies at lower costs,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday. 

The minister was speaking at the Second Asia Energy Transition Summit held at Pakistani university LUMS on Saturday. 

Iqbal warned that climate change is intensifying emergencies and increasing economic burdens on vulnerable countries, adding that financial incentives and concessional financing have become indispensable for sustainable climate action.

“He further emphasized the need to redesign the global financial system based on the principles of collective responsibility and equity,” APP said. 

The minister noted that Pakistan has been introducing comprehensive reforms in its development agenda to promote renewable energy, solar power and green technological solutions. 

The country, he said, possesses “strong solar potential,” a robust renewable energy market, a wide talent pool in engineering and science and an enabling environment for green innovation.

Pakistan has regularly urged developed countries to fulfill past pledges and provide easy access to climate funding without attaching conditions, especially at Conference of Parties (COP30) climate summits. 

Islamabad was instrumental in getting the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022. The Loss and Damage Fund aims to help developing and least developed countries cope with both economic and non-economic impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and slow-onset crises like sea-level rise and droughts.