SPOT REPORT - RUMORS OF A COUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 018902

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO ALL SOUTH ASIAN COLLECTIVE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2011
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PK
SUBJECT: SPOT REPORT - RUMORS OF A COUP

Classified By: CDA Peter W. Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. On September 24, Pakistan was abuzz with
(unfounded) rumors of a coup against President Musharraf, who
was away on official travel in the United States. Cell
phones and text messages allowed the rumor to quickly spread
and many Government of Pakistan (GOP) and Embassy officials
were fielding calls on reports of the coup. In the end,
reports of the coup were verified to be false, but the whole
situation shed light into how susceptible the Pakistani
public are in believing rumors. End summary.


2. (SBU) Rumors of a coup started around 2:00 pm on a
weekend, with government offices closed. The circumstances
on September 24 were ideal for a rumor of a coup to start:
there were large-scale power outages throughout the country,
with some places being without power for 12 hours; President
Musharraf was out of the country in the U.S. and was
unexpectedly undergoing medical examinations in Texas;
Pakistani state television, PTV, was off the air for a few
hours; and the recent military coup in Thailand was fresh in
people's minds. Some people had interpreted the nationwide
power outages and PTV going off the air (which also occurred
during the 1999 coup) as evidence that the military had taken
over in President Musharraf's absence. By late afternoon,
Pakistanis inside and outside the country were busily trying
to reach anyone who might be in the know to verify reports of
a military coup.


3. (SBU) Embassy officers and FSNs started receiving inquires
on coup rumors a little past 3:00 pm. One Embassy official
reported that her golfing partners, a former GOP official and
his wife, were receiving dozens of phone calls and text
messages trying to confirm reports of a military coup. An
Embassy FSN repeatedly received phone calls from throughout
Punjab asking him if it was true that military helicopters
were circling Islamabad and tanks were rolling down the
streets of the capital. Others received messages from as far
away as Karachi and Quetta. Other diplomatic missions in
Islamabad also received similar inquires.


4. (U) By the early evening, the Embassy had confirmed from a
variety of official sources that no coup had taken place.
Later in the evening, news bulletins featured GOP officials
who publicly denied any coup.


5. (C) Comment: The speed with which the coup rumor spread
and was believed speaks to the penchant for conspiracy
theories and juicy rumors in Pakistan as well as the power of
cell phones and text messages. As Pakistan moves closer to
elections in late 2007/early 2008, it is likely that more
rumors of coups will appear. End comment.
BODDE