As the country was plunged into darkness following a massive power breakdown late on Saturday night, Pakistanis took to Twitter, initially trying to discover what had happened.

However, as people exchanged information about their respective areas, the confusion gave way to characteristic Pakistani humour as people started sharing memes and poking fun at Prime Minister Imran Khan's "Naya Pakistan".

Loadshedding and BlackOutPakistan were among the top trends on Twitter as people came up with their own hilarious reasons for the power outage, with some suggesting it was a classic case of "restart and see if it works".

Some people suggested that the power breakdown was "revenge" by former special assistant to the prime minister on power Tabish Gohar who recently resigned. An official had told Dawn that Gohar was fed up with interference in his workings and too many cooks in the pot.

Academic and columnist Umair Javed questioned whether the outgoing SAPM had "taken the electricity of the entire country with him".

Others poked fun, saying the country was being "switched off and on to see if that worked".

Some people wondered where the candles were, while others said another "mafia" would spring up now.

"The entire country is tripping," another user said.

Another user shared a picture of a visibly frustrated prime minister with the caption "when you forget to pay the electricity bill".

The prime minister featured prominently in most jokes.

"In last 72 year's @ImranKhanPTI is the first Prime Minister of Pak who introduce Dark Mode in the whole country. Wow Ye hota hai leader, ye hota hai vision," tweeted one user.

Journalist Amber Rahim Shamsi said that while the country was without power, WhatsApp groups were "electrified".

While power is yet to be restored in several areas across the country, one thing is for sure: Pakistanis have a strong meme game.

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Header photo: Motorists drive through a residential area during a power blackout in Karachi on Jan 10. — AFP