For a few hours, Islamabad looked skyward and reached for its phones. A cluster of moving lights over the capital set off a frenzy of speculation, ranging from the plausible to the wonderfully absurd.
Theories take flight
Within minutes, timelines filled with grainy clips and confident explanations. Drones, aircraft, satellites and the inevitable extraterrestrials all had their champions.
Half the city was outside pointing at the sky. It was the most united this town has felt in months.
Cooler heads pointed to a coordinated light display and routine air traffic, but by then the theories had taken on a life of their own.
- Dozens of clips filmed from different neighbourhoods.
- A wave of memes within the first hour.
- A more mundane explanation emerging by morning.
Whatever the source, the episode was a reminder of how quickly a shared moment of wonder can light up an entire city, if only for one strange evening.
