Conspiracy Theories and Security Threats: A Case Study of Pakistani Perceptions About The United States of America

Conspiracy Theories and Security Threats
A Case study of Pakistani perceptions about the United States

of America
Written by: Jawad Ali Khan

Supervised by: Miss Sadia Tasleem
Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

2013
So Pakistan is a country that Im very fond of and have spent a lot of time, but it is a
country where conspiracy theories have a life of their own.
Peter L. Berge, a British-American journalist
ii
Acknowledgements
I find my thesis truly incomplete without acknowledging the support and ideas of people
who have meant a lot to my work.
Undoubtedly, the first two persons who deserve to be mentioned most in this list are my
supervisors, Miss Sadia Tasleem and Miss Salma Malik, who were more than willing to
extend their kind help, guidance and support in the completion of my thesis. To supervise
a work of a lethargic student like me is I believe too demanding and a herculean task,
which my supervisors did with excellence.
The second person who is to be credited is Dr. Matthew Dentith, from the University of
Auckland, New Zealand, who maintained a constant contact with me through Facebook
and whose PhD thesis proved for me to be a basis for learning my basics about
conspiracy theories and their assessment. Thirdly, I would like to be thankful to my
roommates cum best friends, Sajid Aziz and Waheed Iqbal, and my sister cum friend
Hajira Asaf Khan, who had faith in my abilities and gave me confidence and boosted up
my morale whenever I felt unable to undertake this immense task in such a short time.
Especially, Waheed Iqbal is someone who poured in his idea to test my knowledge by
asking me to setup a fake conspiracy theory for my research work that would prove very
helpful for my analysis. Fourthly, I would like to extend my gratitude to Asif Mehmood,
the Senior President of DSS Society, Aamir Khan and Rasheed Khan for helping me in
carrying out survey. And lastly, I would like to thank my friends, as well as juniors for
monitoring, my daily progress which always pushed me ahead to accomplish my task.
iii
List of Tables
Table 1 Survey Findings .................................................................................................. 69

Table 2 Percentage Composition of Anti-US sentiment in each category....................... 70
Table 3 Percentage within every category about Belief in US covert operations ........... 70
Table 4 Percentage within every category about belief in conspiracy theorists .............. 71
Table 5 Percentage in every category who accuse US for past events, assassinations and
terrorism inside Pakistan ................................................................................................... 71
Table 6 Percentage in Random category about future relations with US ....................... 72
Table 7 Percentage in QAU Students about future relations with US ............................ 72
Table 8 Percentage in Matric Pass about future relations with US................................. 73
Table 9 Percentage in Under matric pass about future relations with US ...................... 73
Table 10 Percentage in illiterate about future relations with US ...................................... 74
iv
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...iii
LIST OF TABLES..iv
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 8
CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS A CONSPIRACY THEORY? .......................................... 13
1.1 History: .................................................................................................................... 13
1.2. Definitions: ............................................................................................................. 14
a. Philosophical definitions: ...................................................................................... 15
b. Non-Philosophical definitions: .............................................................................. 19
c. Developing a working definition of conspiracy theories: ...................................... 23
1.3 Types ....................................................................................................................... 26
a. Shallow Vs. Deep Conspiracy Theory:.................................................................. 26
i. Shallow Conspiracy Theory....26
ii. Deep Conspiracy Theory...................26
b. Enemy Within to Benevolent theories: .................................................................. 26
i. Enemy Outside....27
ii. Enemy Within....27
iii. Enemy Above...27
iv. Enemy Below....27
v. Benevolent Conspiracies....27
c. Level of Analysis Approach: ................................................................................. 27
i. Event Conspiracy Theory.......27
ii. Systematic Conspiracy Theory......27
iii. Super Conspiracy Theory.....28
1.4 Examples: ................................................................................................................ 28
a. Moon Landing: ...................................................................................................... 28
b. 9/11 attacks: ........................................................................................................... 29
v
c. 2nd May OBL Operation: ....................................................................................... 29

CHAPTER TWO: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, THEORISTS AND CONSPIRATORS:
IDENTIFYING TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS...................................................................... 31
2.1. Conspirators: .......................................................................................................... 31
2.2. Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? ..................................................... 32
a. Professor Stephan Lewandowsky: ......................................................................... 32
i. People hate randomness..........32
ii. State policies......32
iii. Nave people.....33
iv. Personality-based belief....33
v. Proven conspiracies...................33
2.3 Conspiracy theorists: ............................................................................................... 34
a. Who are they? ........................................................................................................ 34
b. How do they work: ................................................................................................ 34
c. Historians and conspiracy theorists: ...................................................................... 35
d. Qualified and non-qualified conspiracy theorists...35
2.3. Tools to analyze conspiracy theories: .................................................................... 36
a. Try to find official plus non-official explanations: ................................................ 36
b. Question the conspiracy theory: ............................................................................ 36
c. Tools to be employed:............................................................................................ 36
CHAPTER THREE: PAK-US RELATIONS AMIDST CONSPIRACY THEORIES .... 45
3.1. Some popular conspiracy theories.......................................................................... 45
a. The Murder of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan: ................................................... 45
b. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto`s assassnation: ....................................................................... 46
c. General Zia-Ul-Haqs plane : ................................................................................ 46
d. Conspiracy Against Nuclear weapons: .................................................................. 46
e. 9/11 and War on Terror: ........................................................................................ 47
f. The 2005 Earthquake: ............................................................................................ 47
g. Benazir Bhuttos assassination: ............................................................................. 47
h. Raymond Davis: .................................................................................................... 48
vi
i. Kerry-Lugar bill: ................................................................................................... 48

j. Memogate: .............................................................................................................. 48
k. MalalaYusofzai: .................................................................................................... 49
l. Americans playing the roles of Taliban: ................................................................ 49
m. Sunni-Shias sectarian killings: ............................................................................. 49
n. Salala Check post: ................................................................................................. 49
o. Osama Bin Laden Operation: ................................................................................ 50
p. Balochistan Militancy: ........................................................................................... 50
q. US Drone strikes:................................................................................................... 50
r. Pakistani media: ..................................................................................................... 51
s. US attacking Pakistan: ........................................................................................... 51
3.2. Analysis of the Selective conspiracy theories: ....................................................... 51
a. Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khans murder: ............................................................ 51
b. US attacking Pakistan: ........................................................................................... 61
3.3. Conspiracy theories and Pakistani Perceptions of the US...................................... 66
a. Survey: ................................................................................................................... 66
b. Analysis: ................................................................................................................ 74
3.4. Anti-US sentiment and conspiracy theories ........................................................... 78
a. Are these conspiracy theories increasing anti-Americanism? ............................... 78
b. Why do Pakistanis hate America apart from conspiracy theories? ....................... 79
CHAPTER FOUR: SELF-PROPOSED CONSPIRACY THEORY ................................ 81
4.1. Conspiracy theory in the making: .......................................................................... 81
4.2. Plan and Implementation:....................................................................................... 82
4.3. Peoples response: .................................................................................................. 82
4.4. Deductions:............................................................................................................. 83
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION................................................................................... 85
a. The findings are: .................................................................................................... 85
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 88
ANEXTURE-1...92
ANNEXTURE-2....98
vii
INTRODUCTION
Pakistan is considered as a haven for terrorists.1 There is political unrest in the Southern
Punjab due to the demand of a separate province;2 the Sindh province which represents a
tattered picture with dead bodies lying in blood pools as street crimes and target shooting
are on the hike3; Balochistan being hijacked by separatist forces such as the Balochistan
liberation Army (BLA)45; Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa which is already deemed as a province
of lawlessness,6 with Taliban playing hide and seek from different cities and targeting
Pakistani armed forces as well as government personnel; lastly, there is no exception for
the Gilgit-Baltistan province which is also struck by the killing of Shiites at the hands of
so-called Sunnis forces7 and vice versa. Above all, the country has witnessed suicide
bombings that neither spare children nor religious places.8The country in general has
experienced a social and political disorder, economic downfall, religious discord, energy
shortfall and drone attacks that have severely affected the life of every Pakistani.
Nato chief presses Pakistan on terrorist safe havens, Dawn, October 30, 2011, accessed on September
24, 2013,http://www.dawn.com/news/662805/nato-chief-presses-pakistan-on-terrorist-safe-havens
2
Southern Punjab: Bahawalpur politicians meet president, The Express Tribune, August 4 2012,
accessed on September 24, 2013, http://tribune.com.pk/story/417422/southern-punjab-bahawalpurpoliticians-meet-president/
3
Unrest in Sindh, The Nation, September 19, 2012,accessed on September 24, 2013,
http://www.nation.com.pk/letters/19-Sep-2012/unrest-in-sindh
4
BLA With Foreign Backing Responsible For Balochistan Situation, Balochistan Times, January 1,
2013, accessed on September 24, 2013,http://balochistantimes.wordpress.com/.
5
Balochistan Assessment 2013, South Asia Terrorism Portal, 2013,accessed on September 24, 2013,
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/Balochistan/index.html.
* The reason why I said so-called Sunnis is because we are not sure if these are Sunnis for real or someone
else playing games in the disguise of Sunnis, just to spark tensions between the two major sectarian groups
of Muslims.
6
Lawlessness worse in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa than in Balochistan, says Fazl, Dawn, November 8, 2012,
accessed on September 24, 2013, http://www.dawn.com/news/762594/lawlessness-worse-in-khyberpakhtunkhwa-than-in-balochistan-says-fazl.
7
Attack on Passengers of Gilgit-Baltistan, 25 Killed, The Dardistan Times, accessed on September 24,
2013, http://www.dardistantimes.com/25-People-of-Gilgit-Baltistan-Killed016
8
Absar, A Brief Analysis of Suicide Bombings in Pakistan, Pakistan Insider, May 14, 2011, accessed on
September 24, 2013, http://insider.pk/national/politics/analysis-of-suicide-bombings-in-pakistan/.
Certainly these problems cannot go unnoticed; however, different people look at them
through different lens. Some see it as fanatics on the loose; others see it as the
involvement of foreign agencies to provoke havoc inside Pakistan with special reference
to the United States and India. Specifically, the US has always been blamed for stabbing
Pakistan in the back.
As a result conspiratorial think often fills in the void left for explaining the causes of the
above mentioned events. These explanations quickly turn into conspiracy theories. And
when these theories hit the media, they create ripples of paranoia that affect most of the
population. There are some very popular conspiracy theories inside Pakistan. People have
generated their own beliefs where they see the United States as an enemy in the guise of a
friend. Through this study, an attempt is made to identify study and present some of the
popular conspiracy theories in Pakistan with reference to the role of the United States in
supposedly creating political and security challenges for Pakistan. This study also
attempts to analyze if these conspiracy theories are generating paranoia inside Pakistan.
These theories also have a role to play in terms of bilateral relations between the United
States and Pakistan. Regardless of the credibility of any of conspiracy theories these do
shape popular perceptions to a large extent creating as a result a constituency of people
having deep mistrust and often hatred towards the United States. This creates a serious
challenge for the policy makers. A states policies are often based on cost and gain
analysis. With a continuous increase in suspicion amongst the masses about the interests
of the United States in the region, it would become very difficult for any future
government to pursue carefully calculated policies towards the US. At the same time any
explicit Pakistani policy against the US would put Pakistan under serious economic as
9
well as security challenges. It is therefore important to develop a mechanism that could

help separate facts and fiction. In other words, conspiracy theories may not be confused
with reality. But this could only be done with a clear understanding of Conspiracy
Theories not only as a concept but also as a crucial factor in bilateral relations between
states.
For this purpose this research would make an attempt to address the following questions;
what are conspiracy theories and their genesis? What are the popularly assumed
conspiracy theories in Pakistan about the United States? Does America exist as a real
threat to Pakistan? Are these conspiracy theories causing or at least exacerbating AntiAmericanism and a sense of paranoia vis--vis the United States?
This research seeks to aim at identifying the conspiracy theories, analyzing them for their
credibility and their impact on the Pakistani citizens. Besides this it makes an attempt to
find out whether the United States exists as a real threat to Pakistan or is it largely
misperceived to be so. If the latter is the case, are those theories being deliberately spread
or are there any triggering events that have led to their generation? In addition, do these
theories solely serve to shape the prevalent perceptions of Pakistanis regarding the United
States?
The study will be based on both qualitative and quantitative research, and data collected
accordingly. The basic source for this research is the work of Dr. Matthew Dentith, an
expert on conspiracy theories with his PhD dissertation titled, In defence of conspiracy
theories. Books and research articles have been used for developing an understanding of
Conspiracy Theory as an academic concept. Literature has been thoroughly surveyed to
10
get a stock of conspiracy theories that are prevalent in Pakistan with reference to the US.
In order to gauge the receptivity of those theories amongst the masses a survey has also
been conducted. Also a self-engineered conspiracy theory was floated at Quaid-i-Azam
Universitys campus to understand the dynamics of conspiratorial thinking and evaluate
peoples responses to that. The results of these surveys and experiment have been
discussed in detail in Chapter three and four. This research would be an addition to the
current literature on Pakistan-US relations and will also serve as a beacon house in
guiding the young and perturb souls through the darkness and dense fog created by these
conspiracy theories.
However, it needs to be clearly stated here that this is a very basic and therefore
rudimentary research. Given the lack of literature and serious time constrains this
research could not delve into the depths of this subject. However, it is a first step, a
building block that could be used to flourish research in this particular field.
A brief overview of the thesis is as follows:
Chapter 1 covers first research question as to what is a conspiracy theory and its origin,
its types along with some examples.
Chapter 2 attempts to address the question of why people believe in conspiracy theories
and presents tools that could be helpful for analyzing the credibility of a conspiracy
theory.
Chapter 3 covers the second, third and fourth questions of this research. It takes stock of
the most popular conspiracy theories inside Pakistan and analyzes them. It also presents
the statistical data that has been gathered by conducting a survey.
11
Chapter 4 presents a self-constructed experiment by the author to gauge peoples

responses to a conspiracy theory.
Chapter 5 offers conclusion of the study.
12
CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS A CONSPIRACY THEORY?

Conspiracy theories are rampant in Pakistan; so much so these have become part of life,
sometimes occupying our minds, even sending chills down the spines and usually leave
an unpleasant effect on all. Soon we find ourselves shocked and drowning in the stream
of beliefs alongside many other people who also fall prey to the very same theory, which
most of the times have no grounds to prove itself but is a mere production of paranoia or
a deliberate lie. It certainly does not mean that all conspiracy theories are not true;
sometimes they are.
This chapter is going to dwell on the history, various definitions, types and some
examples of conspiracy theories.
1.1 History:
Conspiracies had been there since the time immemorial. It is hard to trace the history of
conspiracy theories with accuracy. Likewise, may not be possible to state the very first
instance when conspiracy theorists were seen in action because that part might have
never been known or documented by the historians. However, research on conspiracy
theories, like all other issues need to be rooted in empirical evidence. Therefore, recorded
evidence as produced in the literature shall be presented below to develop an
understanding of the evolution of conspiracy theory as an academic concept.
There are various claims to the first ever use of conspiracy theory, and they all float in the
ocean of time from nineteenth to twentieth century. The Oxford English Dictionary
mentions the first ever use of the phrase conspiracy theory to had been in 1909, in an
13
article published in The American Historical Review.9Merriam-Webster Dictionary,

regarded as the America`s leading and most trusted provider of information on language,
also confirms the first usage of conspiracy theory to 1909 but does not mentions the
document or anything else, where it was used.10
Dr. Ghayur Ayub, who writes at the Opinion Maker- a virtual Think Tank, wrote an
article on July 7, 2012 in Pak-US relations, titled Chronological events and AAZ.
According to that, the first use of conspiracy theory was in 1871 in an article that was
published in Journal of Mental Science.11According to the book, Conspiracy Theories &
Secret Societies For Dummies, by Christopher Hodapp and Alice Vonn Kannon, the first
book ever written on conspiracies was in 1791 The Veil Withdrawn by a French priest
named LeFranc, in which he blamed the Freemasons for being behind the bloody French
Revolution.12
1.2. Definitions:
How do we define a conspiracy theory? What exactly is a conspiracy theory?
According to Matthew Dentith, we can broadly divide the debate of definitions of
conspiracy theory into two groups, philosophical and non-philosophical.
Oed.com,s.v.conspiracy theory, accessed September 25, 2013,

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/39766
10
Merriam-Webster.com, s.v.conspiracy theory, accessed September 25, 2013.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspiracy%20theory
11
Dr. Ghayur Ayub, Chronological events and AAZ,Opinion Maker, July 7, 2012, accessed on
September 25, 2013,http://www.opinion-maker.org/2012/07/chronological-events-and-aaz/.
12
Christopher Hodapp, Alice Vonn Kannon, ,Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For
Dummies(Indiana, Wiley Publishing,inc,2008),p.28.
14
a. Philosophical definitions:
Philosophical work on conspiracy theories had begun in the first half of the Twentieth
century, with the first publication of Karl Poppers The Open Society and Its Enemies,
which is widely considered very influential both inside and outside the domain of
Philosophy.
According to Karl Popper, it is, the view that an explanation of a social phenomenon
consists in the discovery of the men or groups who are interested in the occurrence of this
phenomenon (sometimes it is a hidden interest which has first to be revealed), and who
have planned and conspired to bring it about.13For Popper, conspiracy theories, as
putative explanations, are problematic, because they refer to the hidden or secretive
motives of conspirators.
Sixty years later, after the work of Karl Popper, Charles Pigden undertook the study of
conspiracy theories with his work Popper Revisited, or What Is Wrong With Conspiracy
Theories?14 Looking at such a long period of sixty years from 1930s to 1990s does
speak that philosophers were not much into conspiracy theories until 1990s, except Karl
Popper who was an exceptional notion.
Charles Pigden is the philosopher who again sparked a Philosophical quest of conspiracy
theories when no other philosopher was working on it. Pigden defines conspiracy theory
in his latest 2007 paper, Conspiracy Theories and the Conventional Wisdom, as, [A]
13
Karl R. Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies Vol.2 (London, George Routledge And Sons Limited,
1969).
14
Quoted by Matthew Dentith, In defence of conspiracy theories, (University of Auckland, 2012),
accessed on September 14,
2013.https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/2292/17107/whole.pdf?sequence=2.
15
conspiracy theory is simply a theory that posits a conspiracy- a secret plan on the part of
some group to influence events by partly secret means [,]15and yet wrote in his earlier
paper of 2006, Complots of Mischief, either the plan or the action must be morally
suspect, at least to some people.16It is to be noted that Pigden shares the same views as
Karl Popper and deems conspiracy theory to be an explanation that some criminals are up
to a crime, but unlike Popper, Pigden does not think conspiracy theories are inherently
problematic. Rather, some can be good explanations which point towards real
conspiratorial activity.
Brian L. Keeleya, professor of Philosophy, wrote a paper in 1999 titled Of Conspiracy
Theories, in which he defined conspiracy theory as,[A] proposed explanation of some
historical event( or events) in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small
group of persons- the conspirators- acting in secret.17
This definition suggests conspiracy theory could be looked at as an idea or a doubt that
indicates the evils designs of crooks. In other words it could be an allegation. Hence, this
research would look at conspiracy theories in terms of allegations.
Lee Basham is another professor of Philosophy, wrote a paper in 2003, title, Malevolent
Global Conspiracy, in which he defined a conspiracy theory as:
[A]n explanation of important events that appeals to the intentional deceptions and
manipulations of those involved in, affected by, or witnessing these events. These
deceptions/manipulations involve multiple, cooperating players. While there is no
contradiction in the phrase conspiracies of goodness, the deceptions and manipulations
implied by the term conspiracy theory are usually thought to express nefarious, even
insanely evil, purposes.18
15
Ibid., p. 27
Ibid.
17
Brian. L. Keeley, Of conspiracy theories, The Journal of Philosophy, (1999) 96(3):p. 109126.
18
Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p.29.
16
16
Bashams definition refers to an event that is intentionally manipulated, or is in other

words preplanned. He also tells that the term conspiracy theory is used to show plans that
are typically, but not always evil. Furthermore, David Coady, the editor of a book,
Conspiracy Theories: The Philosophical Debate, defines a conspiracy theory as:
A proposed explanation of an historical event, in which conspiracy (i.e. agents acting
secretly in concert) has a significant causal role. Furthermore, the conspiracy postulated
by the proposed explanation must be a conspiracy to bring about the historical event
which it purports to explain. Finally, the proposed explanation must conflict with an
official explanation of the same historical event.19
Coadys definition has nothing new to say, when compared with the other philosophers
whose definitions have already been mentioned before him. However, one thing that
arouses interest is that the distinction he draws between an official explanation of an
event and that of a conspiracy theorist; he says that the beliefs or ideas of conspiracy
theorists should be in contrast to what an official statement says. It shows governments
do play a role in giving cover stories to events where government has done something
wrong that needs speculation and accountability. But it is not necessary that government
is always disseminating disinformation, sometimes it could be real.
Furthermore, Neil Levy, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, explains
conspiracy theories in his 2007 article, Radically Socialized Knowledge and Conspiracy
Theories, as, [A]n explanation of an event in terms of the plans and co-ordinated
actions of a secretive group of conspirators[.]20He further argues, A conspiracy theory
that conflicts with the official story, where the official story is the explanation offered by
the (relevant) epistemic authorities, is prima facie unwarranted.21He appears to have
more faith in official stories that could also be easily fabricated and are usually done so
19
David Coady, Conspiracy theories and ofcial stories, In Coady, D., editor, Conspiracy Theories: The
Philosophical Debate(Hamp- shire: Ashgate, 2006).
20
21
Ibid.
17
by the governments. This makes his definition debatable. Official statements in some
cases could be a cover up that may not be readily believed.
Pete Mandik a professor at the Department of Philosophy, William Paterson University
proposes five conditions that are necessary for an explanation to be qualified as a
conspiracy theory, Conspiracy theories postulate, explanations of historical events in
terms of intentional states of multiple agents (the conspirators) who, among other things,
intended the historical events in question to occur and keep their intentions and actions
secret.22Pete Mandik is trying to convey the same meaning as other philosophers. He
gives an account of what counts as a conspiracy which relies on a list of five necessary
and sufficient conditions. However, he thinks that if a theory fulfills all these five
conditions then that theory is irrational to believe and is thus inadequate compared to
some other rival explanations. He is actually trying to tell that at times certain events
attract conspiracy theorists and trigger their intellect to come up with their explanations.
Juha Raikka, wrote a paper in 2009, On Political Conspiracy Theories, where he has
subscribed to Brian L. Keeleys views about conspiracy theories. He writes, Conspiracy
theories that aim to explain only limited historical phenomena are often warranted, i.e.
they provide the (more or less) correct explanations of events.23
No conspiracy theorist can claim to be all-knowing. And if a conspiracy theory is humble
enough to accept its limitations, then that definitely deserves to be checked for warranty.
He further offers his perspective on official statements. As oppose to Levy, he argues,
22

Juha Raikka, On political conspiracy theories, Journal of Political Philosophy, (2009), 17(2):185
201.
23
18
Official explanations can be theories and they can refer to conspiracies, but they cannot
be conspiracy theories (unless they are official explanations of wrong authorities).24
This was an overview of some the philosophical definitions; however a comprehensive
definition of Conspiracy theory cannot be produced without discussing the nonphilosophical explanation too.
b. Non-Philosophical definitions:
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, conspiracy theory is defined as, . . . the
theory that an event or phenomenon occurs as a result of a conspiracy between interested
parties; spec. a belief that some covert but influential agency (typically political in
motivation and oppressive in intent) is responsible for an unexplained event[.]25This
definition cites the presence of an influential group of conspirators behind an event that is
full of ambiguity where it might be hard to know who the conspirators are.
Matthew Dentith has mentioned and analyzed the work of two Britain based journalists.
Firstly, Robin Ramsay, who is an author, co-founder and also the editor of Lobster- a
magazine that works on analyzing the influence and hold of intelligence agencies and
security services on state politics and world trade. His areas or fields of interest in
research are politics and conspiracy theories.26 In his book Conspiracy Theories, he
views conspiracy theories from two different angles:
1. First, that it is a hypothesis about a conspiracy which is responsible for an event. And
belief in such conspiracies suggests that the believer is suffering from a paranoia,
24
Ibid.
conspiracy, n. (2011), OED Online, http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/39766.
26
Lobster Magazine, accessed September 23, 2013, http://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/.
25
19
which means such conspiracy theories are irrational and unwarranted because they
are the mere results of paranoia.27
2. Secondly, there are explanations that are rational and warranted, which are not the
result or outcome of paranoia.
The second British journalist mentioned by Matthew Dentith is David Aaronvitch-an
author, broadcaster and a journalist, who also writes columns for The Times. In his book
Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History,
Aaronvitch defines conspiracy theory as,
[T]he attribution of deliberate agency to something that is more likely to be accidental or
unintended. And, as a sophistication of this definition, one might add: the attribution of
secret action to one party that might far more reasonably be explained as the less covert
and less complicated action of another. So a conspiracy theory is the unnecessary
assumption of conspiracy when other explanations are more probable.28
It can be said that Aaronvitch shares the same views as those of Neil Levy and Juha
Raikka. He thinks that belief in what conspiracy theorists have to say is irrational and
unwarranted in the face of other sources that give more credible statement or an
explanation to an event.
Geoffrey Cubit defines conspiracy theory in his book The Jesuit Myth: Conspiracy
Theory and Politics in Nineteenth Century France as, Considered at the most schematic
level, then,a conspiracy theory does three things: it attributes the events of history or
current affairs to conscious human volition; it sharply distinguishes between the human
forces of good and evil; it implies a hidden reality beneath and at odds with the
27

David Aaronvitch, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
(London: Jonathan Cape, 2009).
28
20
superficial appearances of the political and social world.29The above definition explains
that there is a world stage where superficial appearances of politics and society are seen,
but behind that there is a hidden reality waiting to be discovered.
Whilst Victoria Emma Pagan, looks at conspiracy theory in her book Conspiracy
Narratives in Roman History as, characterized by an epistemological gap caused by
the secrecy and silence that shroud the event.30Pagan appears to argue that there are
secrets that maintains a hollowness and keeps an event hidden or covered, which makes
up for a mystery and that in result effects the comprehension of the very event. For her,
conspiracy theories are doubtful narratives that help in understanding an event which,
despite being doubtful explanations, provide easy rationale.
Mark Fenster writes in Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture
that conspiracy theorists are people unaware of the hierarchy of power in society; in fact
their theories show that they are paranoid.31
Richard Hofstader, an American historian32 wrote an article in 1964, by the name of The
Paranoid Style in American Politics which sparked a sociological and psychological
debate on the topic of conspiracy theories. He defined conspiracy theorists as politically
paranoid individuals who feared conspiracy against themselves.33
Yet, Veronique Campion-Vincent writes in one of her articles From Evil Others to Evil
Elites that conspiracy theories show our adaptability to ever changing circumstances.
She also says that it is through conspiracy theories we try to understand bad intentions
29

Victoria Emma Pagan, Conspiracy Narratives in Roman History (Austin: University of Texas Press,
2004).
31
Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p.23-24.
32
Richard Hofstadter An Intellectual Biography,accessed October 15, 2013,
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo3680376.html.
33
Richard Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1996).
30
21
and actions. However, she is convinced that there are some other alternative theories or
explanations too, that stand at a far better position to reality.34
Dieter Groh writes in The Temptation of Conspiracy Theory, or: Why Bad Things
Happen to Good People? that at times people are perplexed with thoughts as to why bad
things happen to them when they are always doing the right thing; it is then when they
create imaginary enemies who are actually inflicting sufferings on them. They believe
there are conspirators who carry out their evil plans in secret.35
In another piece of writing Spinning Paranoia, Skip Willman explains that conspiracy
theories are an attempt to explain events through the conspiracies of certain people.36And
there is Fran Mason who writes in A Poor Persons Cognitive Mapping, that conspiracy
theories have no importance and no rationality for non-conspiracy theorist-they think
these are erroneous statements which are good only to their own creators.37
After having read both the philosophical and non-philosophical works about conspiracy
theories, four factors are common to every Conspiracy theory.
i.
Allegations: All conspiracy theories are allegations until proven otherwise.
ii.
Conspirators: There are conspirators that may exist or may not exist- might be
imaginary.
iii.
Secrecy: Everything is planned in secrecy.
iv.
Objective: There is an ultimate desired goal.
34
Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p. 24.

Dieter Groh, The Temptation of Conspiracy Theory, or: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
Part II: Case Studies, Springer Link, accessed on October 20, 2013,
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4612-4618-3_2
36
37
Ibid.
35
22
d. Developing a working definition of conspiracy theories:

Christopher Hodapp, and Alice Von Kannon, in their book Conspiracy Theories &
Secret Societies for Dummies argue:
A conspiracy theory is the idea that someone, or a group of someones, acts secretly, with
the goal of achieving power, wealth, influence, or other benefit. It can be as small as two
petty thugs conspiring to stickup a liquor store, or as big as a group of revolutionaries
conspiring to take over their country`s government. Individuals, corporations, churches,
politicians, military leaders, and entire governments can all be conspirators, in plots as
evil as secretly developing nuclear weapons, as creepy as smuggling stolen human
transplant organs, or as annoying as cornering the market on neighborhood $4-coffee
joints.38
While, all the above-mentioned definitions make sense, one way of defining conspiracy
theory could be to deconstruct the term itself to get to its meaning. For instance, one may
look at Conspiracy and Theory separately. This may help capture the scope of the
term conspiracy theory fully. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary conspiracy
means a secret plan by a group to carry out an act that could be harmful or illegal; and
theory means an idea that is used for the explanation of events or facts which may be
possibly true but is not proven to be so. Based on this understanding this research would
look at the concept of conspiracy theory more from the perspective of Defence and
Strategic Studies. It therefore defines conspiracy theory as an allegation against an entity,
to have secretly strategized a mission over a broad spectrum of gains against another
entity, which is yet to be proved and can be a miscalculation, misperception, deliberate
defamation or a reality.
Conspiracy theory could be looked at as a seed of doubt which is planted by the actions
or events, that somehow make sense when seen or connected to each other, and acquires
38
Christopher Hodapp and Alice Von Kannon, Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies for
Dummies,(Indiana: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008),p.9.
23
the status of an allegation when explicitly expressed and propounded in public, that needs
to be proved to stand the skepticism that it will be faced with.
iv. Critique to the proposed definition:
Offering critique on the definition, Dr. Matthew Dentith commented that Conspiracy
theory is more generic, it is an explanation of an event which cites a conspiracy as a
salient cause.
For example, the explanation by the Dewey Commission that the Moscow Show Trials
were the result of Stalin and his friends conspiring to secure false convictions turned out
to be the best explanation of the event, despite the fact Stalin and his friends said
conspiracy theory was a miscalculation, misperception, deliberate defamation or
reality. He continues, that if we define conspiracy theories in terms of them being prima
facie or typically mistaken, we end up confusing the issues of *some specific* conspiracy
theories for issues to do with the general class of things called conspiracy theories.
Dismissing the last clause of the proposed definition, Dentith emphasized more on the
claim, Conspiracy theory is a purported explanation about some set of conspirators who
have secretly strategized a mission for a broad spectrum of gains, which is yet to be
proved. Analyzing the definition further, Dentith found the portion, secretly strategized
a mission over a broad spectrum of gains against a rival interesting, but the term rival
could be excluded, as there could be a conspiracy in effect to achieve some end that is not
directed against some rival. He gave an example that he and his friends are conspiring to
control the supply of chocolate in the world but they are not rivals to anyone in particular.
24
Further he thought that broad spectrum of gains is interesting, because it gets to the
intuition that conspiracy theories can be vague claims about why, exactly, the
conspirators are at work. However, he would be inclined to say something more like
towards some end, which allows for said vagueness but also does not commit to
requiring that conspirators have grandiose goals. Some conspiracies might result in small
ends: a conspiracy to hide who assassinated a local politician might end up being small
fry compared to a conspiracy designed to hide the continuing existence, say, of a
weapons programme.39
Matthew Dentith concludes his analysis of the authors proposed definition over three
points:
First is, he thinks conspiracies are not necessarily against anyone as claimed in the
definition. At times conspirators might be trying to achieve an end without the thought of
trying to inflict damage on someone, or the intent to hurt or defame anyone. However, as
a counter argument, when a conspirator is trying to implement his plan, he does not work
in a vacuum. If conspiracies were not affecting anyone directly or indirectly then there
would have been no effort by someone to come up with their theory to wage allegations
against some conspirator. In the first place, if it is not related to someone then why would
it be called a "conspiracy" theory? His second point of skepticism is that the definition
appears to be more specific than generic. The reason is that all conspiracy theories fall
into either one of the four categories: miscalculation, misperception, deliberate
defamation or a reality. And his third point of critique is the use of broad spectrum of
gains; according to him, conspiracies do not usually involve broad goals but may
39
Dr. Matthew Dentith, Facebook message to author, December 5, 2013.
25
contain a simple small objective. Hence, in the light of the above criticism a new
definition of conspiracy theory is formulated as an allegation against an entity, to have
secretly strategized a mission to achieve an objective that may be directly or indirectly
affecting another entity. It has yet to be proven and could be based on a miscalculation,
misperception, deliberate defamation or a reality.
1.3 Types
There are various writers who have given different types conspiracy theories:
a. Shallow Vs. Deep Conspiracy Theory:

According to Murray Rothbardan American economist, historian and a political
theorist,40 there are two types of conspiracy theories:41
i.
Shallow Conspiracy Theory: In this conspiracy theory, the theorist looks at a

mystery and directly deduces a certain perpetrator or a group of perpetrators.42
ii.
Deep Conspiracy Theory: In this conspiracy theory, the theorist firstly ponders over
a happening, deduces a perpetrator or a group of perpetrator with a conspiracy but
while deducing certain beneficiaries or evil forces, the theorist seeks evidence to
support their assumptions.43
b. Enemy Within to Benevolent theories: Book editor, writer and blogger,

Jesse Walker had presented five types of conspiracy theories in his book44 The
40
Murray N. Rothbard, Mises Daily, http://mises.org/daily/author/299/Murray-N-Rothbard.

Quoted by B.K. Marcus in Radio Free Rothbard, Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 20, No 2(Spring
2006).
42
B.K Marcus, Radio Free Rothbard, Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol.20, No. 2(Spring 2006).
43
Ibid.
44
In Praise of Cranks: Jesse Walkers "The United States of Paranoia", review of The United States of
Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory by Jesse Walker, http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/in-praise-of-cranksjesse-walkers-the-united-states-of-paranoia.
41
26
United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory, which was published in

August, 2013:
i.
Enemy Outside: In this type of conspiracy theory, there are evil forces that are
operating against a community while staying outside.
ii.
Enemy Within: This type of conspiracy theory portrays an unrecognizable enemy

who is operating against a community while staying inside.
iii.
Enemy Above: This type of conspiracy theory views certain powerful people who
have hijacked the entire system to their advantage.
iv.
Enemy Below: This type of conspiracy theory sees lower class plotting against the
system to overtake it.
v.
Benevolent Conspiracies: The theorist in this type of conspiracy theory sees the
involvement of divine forces who are engaged for the betterment of man.
c. Level of Analysis Approach:

Michael Barkun is professor of Political Science at the Syracuse University. He
places these theories on three graduated levels, ranging from.
i.
Event Conspiracy Theory: This type of conspiracy theory associates a conspiracy

with a particular event or a chain of events. For example, the creation of AIDS and
the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon.45
ii.
Systematic Conspiracy Theory: In this type of conspiracy theories, there are

conspirators who are believed to have a large network, geared its efforts towards
achieving ambitious goals. For example, the allegations that Jews are controlling the
45
Hodapp and Kannon, op. cit.
27
entire banks of the world and that the Muslims want Islam to take over all other
religions of the world.46
iii.
Super Conspiracy Theory: According to this conspiracy theory, there are a series of
conspiracies which are actually subparts of a bigger conspiracy or plan, which is
planned by an evil genius or a mastermind. For example, Satan, who compels man to
commit sin so as to draw him away from his Creator.47
1.4 Examples:
Here are some examples of conspiracy theories:
a. Moon Landing:
The Apollo Program which is also known as Project Apollo was a program in 1969 by
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration- the civilian space agency of the
United States of America. The goal was to land a man on the surface of the moon and
deliver him back safely to the earth. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two
astronauts ever to have landed on the surface of the moon which was definitely a moment
of pride for the American nation.
However, few years later, a book was written by Bill Kaysing, We Never Went to the
Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle. The Flat Earth Society also criticized
NASA to have faked the landings in collaboration with Hollywood and Walt Disney. And
the third criticism came from Fox television network during 2001, who broadcasted a
46
47
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 25.
28
documentary on Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? They accused NASA to
have faked everything just to win the Space Race.48
b. 9/11 attacks:
On September 11, 2001, the Pentagon and World Trade Center were under attack by
terrorists who slammed passenger airliners into the buildings to inflict damage and
misery upon America. America blamed Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network for
the cataclysmic destruction. But there are some people who disagree over this official
statement and blame the US administration to have orchestrated everything to justify their
attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq; and that the World Trade Centre plus the Twin Towers
were destroyed through controlled demolition which caused them to be completely
destroyed. The officials responded with statements that there were structural failures and
fire alongside the impact of the airplanes which caused the buildings to fall to ground.
Another conspiracy theory was that the wall in Pentagon was not struck by an airplane
but by a missile that was deliberately launched from within by the US Navy. There are
other conspiracy theories which blame the US administration to have known everything
in advance but deliberately ignored the attacks.49
c. 2nd May OBL Operation:

On 2nd May, 2011, US conducted an operation through Navy SEALs against Osama Bin
Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Osama Bin Laden was successfully taken out and the
threat was neutralized. However, when American administration failed to provide any
48
Jay Weidner, How Stanley Kubrick Faked the Apollo Moon Landings, Reality Sandwich,
http://realitysandwich.com/23226/kubrick_apollo/.
49
Dave Thomas, The 9/11 Truth Movement: The Top Conspiracy Theory, a Decade Later, CSI,
July/August 2011,
http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_9_11_truth_movement_the_top_conspiracy_theory_a_decade_later/.
29
pictures of Bin Laden or his DNA test results and quickly dumped his corpse into the sea,
they gave a chance to conspiracy theorists to get to work which bred several theories.
Some called it a fake operation by Obama to strengthen his position in the upcoming
presidential elections while others said it was not Osama because he was killed years
before in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, during carpet bombing. Even some said, America
wanted to humiliate Pakistan, undermine its defence forces and denounce Pakistan for
being home to terrorists.50
This chapter discussed the various definitions of conspiracy theories, from both
philosophical and non-philosophical point of view and at the end the author gave and
defended his own definition. Various claims regarding the history of conspiracy theories
were studied; different types of conspiracy theories and some examples were also
discussed.
50
OBL commission report: some questions, Dawn, July 27, 2013,

http://www.dawn.com/news/1032274/obl-commission-report-some-questions.
30
CHAPTER TWO: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, THEORISTS

AND CONSPIRATORS: IDENTIFYING TOOLS FOR
ANALYSIS
This chapter will be telling about conspirators, their work, why do people believe in
conspiracy theories, who conspiracy theorists are? And finally tools to analyze
conspiracy theories.
2.1. Conspirators:
Conspiracies without conspirators would never be conspiracies, rather, they would be
either a random occurrence or something which looks conspiratorial but turns out not to
be. Conspirators are people who are involved in plotting a conspiracy against someone. If
we look at them from the lens of grammar, they play the role of subject in the sentence of
conspiracy. Whether or not, conspirators are always successful in their attempt, Karl
Popper writes in his book Conjectures and Refutations, published in 1963 by Routledge,
. . . I assert that conspiracies are very rarely successful. The results achieved differ
widely, as a rule, from the results aimed at. (Consider the Nazi conspiracy.)51Karl
Popper clearly states that conspirators are not always successful in their ambitions, and
gives example of how Hitler had conspired a Holocaust against Jews, but failed to reach
his ultimate objective which was to completely destroy the Jews.
According to Dr. Matthew Dentith, conspirators might not always be successful in their
plans for the following reasons:
1.
51
Their conspiracy gets revealed before the objective is achieved.
31
2.
The conspiracy gets botched;
3.
Or the conspirators change their objectives. Or it can turn out that the
conspirators do not share one common goal, so they act towards their own
personal goals, which then come into conflict and the conspiracy fails.
Matthew Dentith further argues, that we should look at the collective picture of the gains
made in the process of conspiring, although the conspirators might not be able to achieve
their main target, as was genocide of Jews in the Holocaust; the sufferings that were
inflicted on the Jews and their migration, can be explained by the existence of a
conspiracy and hence we cannot totally deny that a conspiracy was unsuccessful.
2.2. Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?

a. Professor Stephan Lewandowsky:
According to Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, there are a number of reasons motivating,
people to believe in conspiracy theories, of which two main reasons could be:
i.
People hate randomness: According to him, people hate randomness and fear it.
But conspiracy theories provide logic instead of randomness, which decreases the
fear of being random. Hence people subscribe to anything that explains a
happening.52
ii.
State policies: When a certain faction of a society is mistreated, they start to

believe in conspiracy theories which might be answering their question as to why
are they being treated like that? For example, the notion that AIDS was spread by
the American government is held by the African-Americans who got disgraceful
52
Alex Seitz-Wald, Why people believe in conspiracy theories, Saloon, April 25, 2013, accessed October
5, 2013, http://www.salon.com/2013/04/24/why_people_believe_in_conspiracy_theories/.
32
treatment at the hands of American administration back in 1950s when they were
forcefully sterilized. Hence, history of state policies sometimes justifies the belief
in conspiracy theories.53
This is where we realize the importance of the discipline of psychology. It explains our
behavior. Dentith states that one of the reasons why people might readily accept a
conspiracy theory or believe in it is because there is something about the conspiracy
theory which might be compatible with their previous beliefs, such that the previous
beliefs render the conspiracy theory as plausible to that person.54
Furthermore people readily believe in these notions, because there could be:
iii.
Nave people: There are people who are too nave to believe in anything you tell
them. They would not only believe in what you have to say, rather would provide
supporting arguments from their acquired knowledge.
iv.
Personality based belief: There are some people in every society who are looked
up to as elderly, powerful, honest citizens or religious personalities. That very
idea of their position becomes a point for them through which they can spread any
word and make people believe it without hesitation; and of course people follow
blindly, as happened in the authors experiment (discussed in the fourth chapter).
v.
Proven conspiracies: There had been conspiracy theories which later proved to
be true. The proven existence of prior conspiracies makes it at least plausible that
a conspiracy might be occurring now, and in some countries/political situations it
might it very likely indeed. So people are open to accommodating new theories.
53
Ibid.
Dentith, op. cit.
54
33
For example Project MKULTRA-The CIAs Mind Control and LSD

Experiments.55
2.3 Conspiracy theorists:

Before we can criticize a conspiracy theory for its warranty, it is very important to first
know how its creator, a conspiracy theorist, works. It will enable us to frame our
judgment cautiously and prudently.
a. Who are they?

Conspiracy theorists are people who give us conspiracy theories and explain events by
inferring the desires and motives of certain conspirators who are held responsible for
carrying out the very event with the objective to have some gains.
b. How do they work:

According to Dr. Matthew Dentith, to give a rational explanation of how a conspiracy
might have taken place; the conspiracy theorists use two techniques to reach an
explanation:
i.
The first technique is, there is an access to certain information which lets them
know the desires or intentions of conspirators and hence proves that they were up
to a conspiracy.
ii.
The second technique is, the conspiracy theorist assumes or postulates certain
intentional mental states that explains the motives of the conspirators.
This is to say that the act of conspiring should be understood as a rational act by the
conspirators. By this, it is meant that, conspirators conspire to achieve a goal for what
55
A covert, illegal CIA human research program was code named MKULTRA.
34
they think are rational reasons. In fact, this is how we can simply slice the bread of
mystery with the knife of rationality. If there is no rationality as to why conspirators acted
the way they did, then the conspiracy theory cannot be credible.
c. Historians and conspiracy theorists:

Matthew Dentith draws an analogy between historians and conspiracy theorists. He
writes, historians also tell about the intentions of conspirators of certain era, to have been
responsible for an event; it is because they are trained in the art of empathizing with the
agents who might have conspired. When empathy is extended towards them, it brings the
desires, intentions and thoughts of the conspirators to light. It is not that we extend
empathy like we would to a child or an animal (which is a form of kindness); empathy
here refers to being able to think like them. Similarly, if conspiracy theorists are trained
like
historians,
they
too
can
tell
about
the
intentions
of
conspirators.
d. Qualified and non-qualified conspiracy theorists:

Matthew Dentith further writes that many historians are conspiracy theorists, but majority
of the conspiracy theorists are not historians. And since historians are good at inferring
the drives of conspirators, they are qualified conspiracy theorists. But again, there are no
rules or certificates to state someone as a qualified conspiracy theorist. Hence, it is not
clear whether a non-qualified conspiracy theorist can infer the desires and motives with
the same efficiency as that of the historians. However, we should be careful while
checking the work of a non-qualified conspiracy theorist since he is also a layman like us
and has developed folk psychology, or common sense, from day to day interactions with
people, whereas a qualified conspiracy theorist is an expert in a particular field who can
authoritatively tell us about thoughts.
35
2.3.
Tools to analyze conspiracy theories:
To determine the credibility of conspiracy theories or to pass them through screening and
examinations in order to arrive at a conclusion so to establish the warranty of conspiracy
theory, it is just like investigating a crime done by some criminal-taking accounts of
people and analyzing them to reach a conclusion. Investigating conspiracy theories is not
less than a detective`s work.
a. Try to find official plus non-official explanations:

There are many accounts of an event; however, if we are to categorize them broadly,
there are two types of explanations or accounts: official and non-official. Study them.
b. Question the conspiracy theory:

To begin with analyzing conspiracy theories, a set of fundamental questions needs to be
first asked.
i.
Who is the conspiracy theorist?
ii.
Is there an evidence to support the explanation?
iii.
Who are the endorsers?
c. Tools to be employed:
i.
Errant data:
Errant data is the very first tool which is used to investigate conspiracy theories. There
are two types of errant data:
36
1. Errant-unaccounted-for data:
Errant-unaccounted-for data is a type of data which is unaccounted for by some other
explanation for the same event.56 So conspiracy theories might claim some data is errant
to an official theory, and some official theory might claim it relies on data errant to some
conspiracy theory. It is not a necessary feature of conspiracy theories. Rather, it just
happens to be the case that conspiracy theories often make reference to errant data more
so than other theories. For example, there are a number of conspiracy theories regarding
the assassination of American president John F. Kennedy. They all mention the claims of
the eyewitnesses of the very day, to have heard more than three rounds fired. But when
we look at the official inquiry report by the American government, there is no such talk
of eyewitnesses or their claims. The eye-witness statements, then, are data errant to the
official theory of the assassination of JFK and the conspiracy theory makes use of this
errant data to suggest that there is a cover-up in operation.57
2. Errant-contradictory data:
Errant-contradictory data is the second type of data used with a contrast which gives birth
to varying number of contrasting theories.58 For example, the US official statement about
the 9/11 terrorist attacks is that two planes that were hijacked by terrorists were smacked
into the twin towers of World Trade Center which caused in its destruction. But nonofficial conspiracy theories which subscribe to the controlled demolition thesis, which
is an errant data, claims that the two planes did fly into the buildings, however the
buildings did not collapse because of their impact but due to the controlled demolition.59
56
Dentith, op. cit., p.75.

Ibid.
58
Ibid., p. 76.
59
Ibid.
57
37
3. Their Usefulness:
Lee Basham writes in Living with the conspiracy. The Philosophical Forum, that it is
errant data which gives an edge to non-official theories over official accounts, which is
why people are always more interested in giving more credit to the non-official
conspiracy theories as compare to the official statements.60
In the light of the above, we can say we should consider or prefer a conspiracy theory,
which contains errant data, over another which does not cite that data, because the former
theory gives a clear understanding instead of featuring missing patches like the later. But
as Basham says, errant data is not enough because that errant data may not be important
to the account.61 Hence, if a conspiracy theory comes up and gives irrelevant errant data
about an event, then we should not have an eye on the irrelevant knowledge just because
it somehow gives more details as compared to the other which is lacking that non-salient
information. Therefore, errant data gives an edge to other rival theories which is mostly
not found in official statements or many rival conspiracy theories. Nonetheless, care
should be taken while giving leverage to conspiracy theories on the basis of errant data.
4. Point of caution:
There would be data deliberately floated by the conspirators in order to mislead, and
distract attention from tracking them down.62Besides the minimization of evidence by the
conspirators, the conspirators might also try to produce fabricated evidence to undermine
a conspiracy theory, which can be disseminated safely and smartly. However, the
conspiracy theorist can claim that possible predictable contradictory evidence against the
60
Dentith, op. cit., p. 77.

Ibid.
62
Brian L. Keeley, Of conspiracy theories, The Journal of Philosophy, Vol.96, No. 3 (1999): 109-126.
61
38
conspiracy theory is really disinformation, which in turn automatically makes that theory
un-falsifiable.63This is a very reasonable move by the conspiracy theorist in a way that he
cancels out the future threats to his theory and handles them prudently.
Another point to remember is, there might be different errant data, which would be
salient, on each side of the rival theories. According to Matthew Dentith, in that very
case, we should look at the theory which has much better and complete explanation
supported by evidence, otherwise suspend belief in that conspiracy theory.
ii.
Prefer official statements over conspiracy theories:
Matthew Dentith writes in his thesis that conspiracy theory skeptics are of the view that
we should prefer official statements over non-official or rival conspiracy theories because
the official statements are given by a relevant authority, supported by evidence, and also
endorsed by academic and political sectors, as compared to the non-official
accounts.64The virtue of being official suggest that the theory`s explanation is well
supported by evidence. However, it is in only a very few cases that the official status of a
theory suggest it is supported by evidence.
1.
Additional information:
According to Dr. Matthew Dentith, there are two types of support to a theory or an
explanation:
2.
Evidential support:
Evidential support is support by evidence. We cannot say for sure, what constitutes to be
the satisfactory evidence for an explanation.65
63
Steve Clarke, Conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorizing, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Vol.
32, No. 2 (2002): 131-150.
64
65
39
3.
Institutional support:
Institutional support is support by institutions or officials.66 It can be independent of the

evidential data or evidential support and is a powerful support to a theory; it can make a
theory as either warranted or unwarranted, no matter how good an evidential support
exists for that very theory. Hence, we can say, institutional support is a game changer.
A theory with good evidence, when is supported by both academia and political sectors,
becomes a more warranted theory as compared to the rest since it acquires an official
status.67 And the status of being official is given to it by an institution which endorses it.
For example, the Lone Gunman hypothesis about the sniper, involved in the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, acted alone, is deemed as an official theory since its
explanation is well supported by the evidence and is also endorsed by academia and
political sectors. Whereas, the rest of the conspiracy theories, who state the sniper to nothave-been-alone, are all declared as unwarranted; because neither academics nor the
political sector endorses or agrees to their explanations which are lacking in evidence to
support their claims.
Hence, we conclude that evidential support plus official status distinguish warranted from
unwarranted conspiracy theories.
66
Ibid.
Ibid.
67
40
4.
Caution:
Matthew Dentith mentions in his thesis, government may try to use its influence to
provoke academia and political sectors to endorse a certain official statement although it
may not be well supported by the evidence.68
Nevertheless, if an institution like government, endorses a theory, it is most likely
because the government has checked all the evidence with respect to the explanation; just
in case government endorses an unwarranted explanation, that is one which is not
supported by evidence, the chances are it could be later discovered which will undermine
the position and judgment of government. So, government will never endorse something
that has no evidence to stand an explanation.
5.
Point to remember:
Matthew Dentith writes in his thesis, if we have no access to the evidence for an
explanation we better consider the official status as a certificate of warranty.
iii.
Prefer academic endorsement over political endorsement:
Matthew Dentith says, if academics endorse some theory, it is through a well-established

research methodology. Even if the academics commit faults in their research, they are in
turn accountable to more skeptical review and consistently endorsing bad theories can
result in their career being terminated. However, political endorsements cannot
necessarily be trusted because they do not necessarily endorse an explanation because of
research; the politicians hold their own judgment, which is sometimes knowingly
deceitful and insincere. Therefore, academic endorsements are to be preferred over
political endorsements.69
68

69
41
iv.
Disinformation and the selective use of evidence:

Matthew Dentith mentions in his thesis another aspect of conspiracy theories and that is
disinformation and the selective use of evidence.70
1.
Disinformation:
According to him, disinformation is telling lies to people.71

2.
Selective use of evidence:
Selection in evidence is selecting a part of evidence from the available information, or

facts to support the lie which is labeled as disinformation.72 Although the evidence is half
presented or a very meager part of it is presented, the purpose behind carrying out such
activities lies in the entirety of supporting the fake explanation to convince people and
mark the explanation as warranted, when it is not in reality and is an example of cheating.
Matthew Dentith gives an example of what the Leftists and Rightists think about how the
United States of America had used fabricated evidence to convince her citizens and the
people of her allies to extend their support in the invasion of Iraq, since Saddam Hussain
was allegedly making weapons of mass destruction.73 This is how America tried to justify
her aggression through the fabrication of evidence which were unwarranted scientific
reports. In the view of such example, Matthew Dentith says, usually large or powerful
institutions are engaged in the process of disinformation.74
70

72
Ibid.
73
74
71
42
3.
Point to remember:
Matthew Dentith suggests, if we have access to the evidence, we better check it ourselves
instead of depending on a person who can misinform us or be selective in his or her
retrieval of the evidence.75 And if there is no access, we better rely on academic
institutions who might be endorsing that explanation and in that case have faith in that
explanation if it is warranted by academics since it goes through a rigorous process of
research methodology where every bit of information can be challenged unless some
reliable source is mentioned or unless that theory is proved.76
4.
Additional information:
The reliability of an informant also gets counted in explanations; however, we should not
fully rely on him, and check for ourselves.
v.
Rumoring:
Rumoring is another effective tool in analyzing conspiracy theories.

1. How it works:
According to Dr. Matthew Dentith, rumoring is a type of fact finding; firstly a rumorer
asks if you have heard something regarding someone or something and then expresses the
idea which he or she has inherited from someone else. By doing so, they are actually kind
of testing if the claim is true, just in case someone knows anything about it.77
75

Dentith, op. cit., p. 152-153.
77
76
43
2. Point to remember:
Dr. Matthew Dentith says rumoring is not rumor-spreading, because there are checks and
balances in the society which analyze everything and then passes on the information,
otherwise it is denied then and there and stopped in its transmission.78
Analyzing the above debate, a major part of every society is either very nave or evil to
ask for proofs or to think about analyzing a rumor; rather they will pass it on as quickly
as possible. And there is no denying to the fact that some people take pleasure in being
creative and make their own additions to such rumors which totally results in the
fabrication of the inherited information. Rumoring may not be an effective technique or
tool to analyze conspiracy theories unless and until we live in a society full of trustworthy
people, as Dr. Matthew Dentith writes in his thesis, who would never make additions or
mold information to malign someone or undermine the position of something.
At the end of this chapter, one builds a clear understanding of the difference between
conspirators and conspiracy theorists, people`s belief in conspiracy theories and tools to
analyze those theories for their credibility.
78
44
CHAPTER THREE: PAK-US RELATIONS AMIDST

CONSPIRACY THEORIES
As already stated at the start, there are certain conspiracy theories circulating in Pakistan
where the United States of America is blamed as the evil force conspiring against the
state of Pakistan; however, through this thesis few major conspiracy theories would be
examined, which are of particular interest.
In this chapter, Pak-US relations in the midst of a number of popular conspiracy theories
shall be examined and identified, and those theories, will be further analyzed using the
tools mentioned in chapter one, in an attempt to find out if America has conspired or is
still conspiring against Pakistan. The survey conducted by the author to find out the
extent to which Pakistanis are intrigued by conspiracy theories will also be discussed and
lastly the connection between conspiracy theories and US sentiments will be analyzed.
3.1. Some popular conspiracy theories

The following are some of the most popular conspiracy theories circulating in Pakistan:
a. The Murder of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan:

Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan was the first Prime Minister of Pakistan who got
assassinated in Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi. America is believed to have plotted his murder
because he was not serving their interests in the region, rather was a hurdle which needed
to be eliminated, and so they planned and executed.79
79
Syed Muhammad Zulqarnain Zaidi, The Assassination of the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan: The
Fateful Journey, Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, Vol.XXXI, No.1, 2010.
45
b. Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos Assassination:

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the father of ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan was hanged till death
after a military coup by General Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq. While in jail awaiting his death
sentence, he wrote a book If I am assassinated, in which he made it clear that if he got
hanged, it would be just because the Americans want that to happen.80
c. General Zia-Ul-Haqs plane:

General Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq after staging a successful coup against Z.A Bhuttos
democratically elected government became the chief martial law administrator and
president of the country. He was the sixth President of Pakistan from 1978-1988, until he
got killed in an air crash, for which America is blamed for as it is claimed they sabotaged
the aircraft.81
d. Conspiracy Against Nuclear weapons:

There is a general perception across the country that America wants to denuclearize
Pakistan. Some speculate that, it is Israel pushing America ahead because it feels
threatened due to the range of Pakistani intercontinental ballistic missiles which can
easily reach the Middle East-Israel.82On the other hand, some believes the America wants
to denuclearize Pakistan because it is an Islamic country and America fears an Islamic
bomb.
80
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, If I am Assasinated (New Delhi: Vikas, 1979).

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Story of Pakistan, June 01, 2003, accessed on November 3, 2013,
http://storyofpakistan.com/general-muhammad-zia-ul-haq/.
82
Asif H Raja, US Attacking Pakistan!, Opinion Maker, July 10, 2012, accessed on November 10, 2013,
http://www.opinion-maker.org/2012/07/us-attacking-pakistan/.
81
46
e. 9/11 and War on terror:

America initiated War on terror in the backdrop of 9/11 cataclysmic attacks on World
Trade Centre and Pentagon. The first country which was selected as a battlefield in this
war was Afghanistan. Pakistan was forcefully dragged into this war after a threat by the
United States of America; and according to Zaid Hamid, defence & strategic analyst,
America`s War on Terror was primarily to strengthen and promote the interests of
America.83Whereas, General(R) Hamid Gul says, War on Terrorism is a war against
Muslims.84According to Brig Asif Haroon Raja, America wants to disintegrate Pakistan
through War on terror.85
f. The 2005 earthquake:

Everyone witnessed the deadly 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. It claimed many lives, and
destroyed a lot of infrastructure. Nusrat Mirza, a famous columnist in Urdu newspaper,
blamed America for casing the 2005 earthquake through HARP technology. 86
g. Benazir Bhuttos assassination:

Benazir Bhutto was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; the first and so far the only
female Pakistani politician who became the eleventh Prime Minister of Pakistan for two
terms. She was assassinated in a suicide bomb blast in Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
83
Brasstracks series 'War on Terror' by Zaid Hamid - episode 1, Youtube, June 24, 2012, accessed on
November 13, 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQIE6EWgR7c.
84
Lt. Gen (R) Hameed Gul, Neo Pakistan, accessed on November 14, 2013,
http://topics.onepakistan.com.pk/lt-gen-r-hameed-gul/.
85
Raja, op. cit.
86
Renowned Pakistani Columnist Nusrat Mirza Accuses U.S. Of Artificially Causing Japanese
Earthquake: The U.S. has Carried Out a Second Nuclear Attack on Japan, Cyberleaks, March 31, 2011,
accessed on November 15, 2013, http://cyberleaks.wordpress.com/2011/03/.
47
h. Raymond Davis:
A US citizen, Raymond Davis, was arrested in Lahore, Pakistan, after he shot dead two
Pakistani citizens. Raymond Davis said in his defence that he acted out of self-defense
since the two people tried to rob him. However, there were allegations that Raymond
Davis was a CIA agent.
i. Kerry-Lugar bill:
A bill was passed in the American Senate and Congress, famously known as KerryLugar bill. It offered economic and developmental assistance and promised America`s
aid to Pakistan to be tripled under it. However, it was a turndown for the Pakistani
administration since it was circumcising the decisional ability and the determination of
the expenditure of the aid. Therefore, it was criticized for these conditions.
j. Memogate:
A controversial case of memogate came forward when a US citizen Mansoor Ijaz accused
the former Pakistani ambassador Hussain Haqqani, to have drafted a memorandum for
Admiral Mike Mullen to put pressure on Pakistan army and stop her from imposing
martial law.87It was seen as an act of treason in which America was blamed to have
crafted the entire memorandum by using then Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, so as
to get entrance into the country and bring them the so called democracy.
87
Memo Case, Geo TV, accessed on November 16, 2013,

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/2011/mullenmemo/pages/english_news_18-11-2011.asp.
48
k. MalalaYusofzai:
Malala Yusofzai is a teenage girl from Mingora town, Swat valley. She was attacked on
9th October 2012, for her pro-education, and anti-Taliban stance.88 But she survived the
attack and later became the focus of attraction. People believe she is nothing more but a
puppet in the hands of CIA and that CIA orchestrated the entire attack and later her
removal from Pakistan.
l. Americans playing the roles of Taliban:

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is fighting against the state of Pakistan. They have caused
umpteen casualties and destruction in the past several years. It is believed that these
Taliban are US Marines, operating inside Pakistan.89
m. Sunni-Shias sectarian killings:

The state of Pakistan is faced with a lot of violence, of which the sectarian violence if
hiking day by day. The irony is, there were sects before as well but they never killed each
other as they are doing now. And the presence of America`s evil designs is strongly felt
for creating tensions between the two sects of Islam to provoke havoc inside Pakistan.
n. Salala Check post:

Since American led NATO forces are fighting War on Terror inside Afghanistan, their
search for terrorists or Taliban sometimes takes them to the borders that are at some
places poorly demarcated, such as in the case of Duran Line between Pakistan and
88
Taliban attack Malala Yousafzai, Dawn, October 09, 2012, accessed on November 18, 2013,
http://www.dawn.com/news/755402/taliban-attack-teenage-peace-campaigner-malala-yousufzai.
89
Zaki Khalid, CIAs brand of Taliban now come with tattoos, The Nation, December 18, 2012, accessed
on November 20, 2013, http://www.nation.com.pk/international/18-Dec-2012/cia-s-brand-of-taliban-nowcome-with-tattoos.
49
Afghanistan. One fine evening, NATO forces engaged two Pakistani check posts and
killed around 28 soldiers in the adventure which attracted fierce criticism from Pakistani
side and resulted in the closure of NATO supply across Pakistan to Afghanistan.90
o. Osama Bin Laden Operation:

While hunting for Osama Bin Laden, America secretly carried out an operation in
Abbottabad, Pakistan, and stunned the world when they killed Osama Bin Laden in his
compound, near Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. At first, it was a moment of
jubilation to have killed the leader of Al-Qaeda, but then came strong response from the
citizens that the military for America had transgressed the sovereignty of Pakistan and
unilaterally carried out an operation without informing the Pakistan army. However, there
is also a general perception among the people that there was no Osama in the compound,
and that it was an orchestrated drama.
p. Balochistan Militancy:
The situation is very critical in Balochistan since militants are taking up arms against the
state of Pakistan and also attacking the local Balochis in the disguise of Pakistani defence
forces. Recently the involvement of American Central Intelligence Agency and the
India`s Research and Analysis Wing has been confirmed.
q. US Drone strikes:
America is carrying out drone attacks in the tribal belt of Pakistan. The citizens and the
government of Pakistan are totally against the strikes because firstly they violate the
90
Pakistan stops Nato supplies after raid kills 28 troops, Dawn, November 26, 2011, accessed on
November 21, 2013, http://www.dawn.com/news/676084/eight-pakistani-soldiers-reportedly-killed-innato-attack.
50
Pakistani airspace and secondly they are targeting innocent Pakistani people, majority of
who are children. Hence, America is criticized for its unlawful killing of innocent people
and the transgression of Pakistan`s sovereignty.
r. Pakistani media:
There is a general perception that America is funding and controlling the media of
Pakistan.
s. US attacking Pakistan:
A Pakistani Brigadier, Asif Haroon Raja, wrote an article in a virtual think tank, Opinion
Maker, in which he blamed America to have been working against the state of Pakistan.91
3.2. Analysis of the Selective conspiracy theories:

i.
Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khans murder:
The official explanation of the event and a conspiracy theory, related to the assassination
of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan are:
ii.
Official Statement:
According to the report produced by the Enquiry Commission, Said Akbar, an Afghan,
was the assassin who assassinated Liaqat Ali Khan. There could be no further useful
investigation into the murder, since the killer was shot dead by the Pakistan Police after
he shot the Prime Minister.92
91
92
Raja, op. cit., p. 50.

Zulqarnain Zaidi, op. cit., p44.
51
iii.
Conspiracy Theory (The Assassination of the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali

Khan: The Fateful Journey):
The day Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan got assassinated, he was going to make a speech
in Rawalpindi, at a gathering, organized by Pakistan Muslim League, and his speech was
about framing-policy.
As per his instructions, there was supposed to be no one with him on the dais and neither
a canopy Shamiyana was to be setup so that everyone could see him, as was requested
in umpteen letters to him.
The moment he uttered his initial two words, Brader-ane-Millet, he was shot with two
rounds, after which he collapsed on his back and people started crying in worry that he
was killed. In the meantime, Pakistan Police fired but in the air, which resulted in the
haphazard running of the crowd. An eye witness of the Associated Press of Pakistan said,
the assassin was attacked by the crowd just after he had fired at the Prime Minister.
Liaqat Ali Khan was taken to Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, but he had
already died before he was operated. After this incident, Pakistan government announced
that the assassin was an Afghan, Said Akbar. He was pro-Amanullah just as his father
was, and was a brigadier too in Afghan army. He had sought refuge in Pakistan after his
family was unwelcomed on Afghanistan soil. Hence, the government of Pakistan had
been helping him with asylum and expenses.
An enquiry commission, chaired by Justice Mohammad Muneer was appointed to probe
into the assassination, which reached to a conclusion that there were three possible
conspiracy theories, after examining the evidence and accounts of the eye witnesses. Two
of the conspiracy theories were kept secret because it was said they could prove fatal to
52
the national interests of Pakistan; however, one conspiracy theory was made public in
which Said Akbar was held Liaqat Ali Khan`s assassin. But the commission failed to
reach to the real culprits. Nonetheless, I will try to further the investigation and analysis,
by revisiting the evidence and accounts of the witnesses.
1. Mr. James Hardy:
When he rushed to the Prime Minister, he saw Nawab Siddiq Ali Khan who sat in the
back of the dais and had rushed to the aid of PM. Mr. Hardy asked Liaqat Ali Khan if he
was hurt, to which he replied that he felt pain on the left side of his back. During this
time, there was continuous firing and he had bent over PM to guard him. He opened the
Achkan of Liaqat Ali and saw blood below his heart.
2. Nawab Siddiq Ali Khan:
According to him, when Prime Minister spoke his very first few words Braadraaney
Millat, two rounds were pumped into his body and he fell on his back, upon which
Siddiq Ali Khan rushed to help him. Liaqat Ali told him that he was shot, God save
Pakistan. Nawab Siddiq then folded the shirt of PM and saw two marks, one of which
oozed out blood whereas the other did not.
3. Lt. Col Chiragh Hassan:
He reached the dais after Mr. Hardy and tried helping him undo some of the buttons
of PM`s Achkan, while he saw Said Akbar being seized by the crowd with his
trousers turning red with his blood.
4. The PM taken to CMH:
The PM was taken to the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, in Mushtaq Ahmed
Gurmanis car, as he laid in the back seat with his head on Nawab Siddiqs knees and
53
legs in Professor Inayatullahs, a Muslim Leaguer, hands. But none mentioned any
bleeding.
5. Dr. Col Mian:
He said he tried his best and massaged the chest of Liaqat Ali but could not save him.
6. Foot Constable Lal Muhammad:
He said, when the PM was shot he heard the Superintendent of Police, Najaf Khan,
calling orders to shoot the killer. But despite the order, Lal Muhammad had fired in the
air because he could not see the killer.
7. Superintendent of Police Najaf Khan:
He gave a totally absurd account of his order shoot the assassin, when asked for an
explanation by the Enquiry Commission. He said, Muhammad Shah shot the assassin,
which he should not have done. When asked if he had taken any action against
Muhammad Shah, he said if the enquiry had showed him to be at wrong then Najaf Khan
would take an action against him.
8. Sardar Amir Azam:
He stated that there were too many Police officers, majority of whom stood behind
the dais and when the PM was shot, he heard Mr. Hardy calling for help to get a car.
He also said that later there was firing from the front and the back of the dais.
9. Islam Din:
A retired Railway sweeper, who claimed to have been the first to have attacked Said
Akbar and later Ghulam Rasool too grabbed Said Akbar`s arm.
54
10. Ghulaam Rasool:

He confirmed Islam Din`s statement and further added that he saw children sitting in the
front of the killer. Three out of the total seven prosecution witnesses were policemen.
And only two of them saw Said Akbar firing at the PM, whereas the rest only heard
explosions. These accounts established the base on which the Enquiry Commission
declared Said Akbar as the assassin of Liaqat Ali Khan, further adding that a pistol was
retrieved, from the killer, which was issued to him by the Deputy Commissioner Hazara.
Alongside the evidence and the testimonies, the sounds of explosions were also recorded
by the Radio Pakistan which were later played and analyzed by the experts to check and
differentiate between the different types of weapons used in that particular incident. A
chart was later prepared on the basis of the analysis, according to which:
i.
1st second:
First two explosions heard were the rounds of 9mm pistol.

ii.
8th-9th second:
Third explosion was by the same 9mm pistol.

iii.
16th second:
Fourth explosion heard and was deduced to be the sound of a revolver with a large
caliber.
iv.
19th second:
Fifth explosion was heard and was of the same revolver with which a round was earlier
fired on 16th second.
v.
20th second:
55
Sixth explosion heard, fired with the same revolver with which rounds were fired at 16th
and 19th seconds.
vi.
21st second:
Two simultaneous rounds fired but with a revolver and a rifle.

vii.
22nd second:
Rifle explosion took place.

viii.
23rd second:
Rifle explosion heard.

ix.
24th second:
Again a rifle explosion heard.

x.
41st-42nd second:
An explosion made with revolver.

xi.
43rd second:
Another rifle explosion heard.

xii.
44th,45th,46th,47th,48th second:
Not clear, whether rifle or revolver, but four rounds fired.

The first two successive shots were fired at PM Liaqat Ali Khan. 16th-42nd second, five
rounds fired, by sub-inspector Muhammad Shah, at Said Akbar, that caused his death.
Hence, my deductions are:
i.
The first two rounds were fired at PM, after which he fell on his back.
ii.
According to Mr. Hardy, Liaqat Ali Khan had no blood on his Achkan, and when
asked if he was hit, he had said that he felt pain on the left side of his back. When
Mr. Hardy opened Premiers Achkan, there was blood right below his heart.
56
iii.
Lt. Col Charagh Hassan had also helped Mr. Hardy in removing the Achkan but
did not mention blood on the Achkan.
iv.
Nawab Siddiq Ali Khan also did not mention any blood on the PMs Shirwani and
silken shirt.
v.
None of the above three men mentioned any bullet holes on PMs Achkan or
Shirwani.
vi.
PMs chest was not injured because then the doctor would not have been able to
massage it.
vii.
Even when the PM was taken to CMH, Rawalpindi, none of the accompanied
men said anything about the bleeding.
viii.
According to the doctors, PMs heart was punctured by a bullet.
ix.
Sardar Amir Azam Khan had told the commission that there were a lot of Police
officers behind the dais.
x.
Khan Najaf Khan was too behind the dais, standing behind PM. And PM had
spoken about pain on the left side of his back.
xi.
Said Akbar was sitting in front and not at the back of the dais. Therefore, Said
Akbar was not the assassin.
xii.
Had Said Akbar been the killer, he would have never brought his eleven years old
son with him, after all then he would have risked his own sons life too which no
parent can afford to do so.
Muhammad Shah, Sub-Inspector, had confessed killing Said Akbar, although according
to him, he was at a distance of thirteen yards from the killer and was still three to four
yards away when Said Akbar had fired third round and Muhammad Shah took out
57
revolver and dropped him dead. Keeping in mind the thirteen yards distance to be
covered within fourteen seconds to reach the assassin is questionable, with the panic of
100,000 crowd all running at the same time towards the dais where Muhammad Shah was
standing.
Dr. Naeem Qureshi writes in his book Pakistan Perspectives that all the prosecution
witnesses had been taught to misguide everyone. Since, Said Akbar had remained in
Afghan army as a Brigadier; he had immediately taken out his pistol in his self defence.
Bahadur Khan was the man who had got hit by the misfire of Said Akbar when he seized
him, and it turned out that Bahadur Shah was a Head Constable in CID. It means Bahadur
Shah was a planted man who was supposed to capitalize on the moment after PM was
shot, and he had to divert people`s attention from the real culprit to an innocent who was
entrapped and later shot dead by Muhammad Shah and the furious crowd.
Said Akbar was trapped by getting invited to Rawalpindi to meet PM so that he could get
allowances from the public treasury that could only be authorized by the PM. That is why
Said Akbar was well dressed and had come with son. His killing provoked the Enquiry
Commission to ponder over why the sub-inspector had to pump five bullets into Said
Akbars body when he was already disarmed. It was considered a senseless act that
buried the conspirators in the mist of mystery.
A disinformation campaign was launched by the national press which directly links to the
Ministry of Information, in trying to hide the facts and photographs of the event. It is
clear that the Ministry of Information had some alliance with the conspirators.
58
Two cabinet members, Ghulam Muhammad and Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani were absent
at the occasion, when it was binding upon them to have welcomed the PM at the airbase
and to also have showed their presence in Company Bagh. They were absent without any
notification and were not there because they were cross with the PM who was going to
sack them and a number of other officials for being corrupt. There was a mixture of
ministers, civil and military officers and politicians along with foreign assistance from
America.
Ghulam Muhammad had close relations with the US Embassy and they knew he wanted
to rise high. However, Americans were not happy with Liaqat Ali for he did not accede to
their desires of containing communism and sending troops to Korea, because America
herself was not ready to give assurances on Kashmir and Pashtoonistan issues. America
then shifted her focus to India to fulfill her wishes. But the atmosphere between India and
Pakistan had grown intense because Pandit Nehru wanted elections in Indian occupied
Kashmir. The armies of the two states stood face to face with each other, which
compelled UN representative Dr. Frank Graham to visit on ad hoc basis so as to settle the
issue. Liaqat Ali was in aggressive mood and there was an overhanging fear of war and a
threat to American interests. At the same time, there were challenges in Iran and Egypt. It
all presented a tattered picture where Communism could take over, because even if India
wins the war, it would be too weak to handle Communism. So, US Secretary of State, Mc
Ghee wanted to try all options to stop this massacre. On the other hand, Liaqat Ali had
become too frustrated with the US and the postponed report of Dr. Graham. It was then
when the US plotted with the Pakistan`s corrupt civil and military bureaucracy and
59
assassinated Liaqat Ali Khan and there came a new regime where Ghulam Muhammad
Raja became the Governor General of Pakistan.93
vi.
Analysis:
This was an event conspiracy theory, and the grand Conspiracy theorist was Professor
(retired) Syed Muhammad Zulqarnain Zaidi, owing to sufficient evidence. As a result, of
the afore stated explanations, the article by Syed Muhammad Zulqarnain Zaidi is very
persuasive in its approach, based on rigorous research methodology and ground breaking
revelations which establishes a good connection between the evidence at hand and the
events that later followed in the unfolding days. Apart from it, this article is written by a
senior academic, who is a qualified conspiracy theorist for this particular case since he
belongs to academia and was a professor of history. He has analyzed the report of enquiry
commission about the assassination of the PM and made further analysis and additions
into the inquiry that were previously overlooked or deliberately missed out by the official
inquires since it was a conspiracy in which the America and the bureaucracy of Pakistan
were involved.94 The explanation, errant data, sufficiency of evidence, the conspiracy
theorist and the endorsers of this theory, make it a warranted theory and gives it an edge
over the rest of the conspiracy theories. It is therefore a warranted theory and explanation,
where the involvement of US administration in the assassination of Prime Minister Liaqat
Ali Khan is established as a fact.
93
Syed Muhammad Zulqurnain Zaidi, The Assassination of the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan: The
Fateful Journey, Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, Vol.XXXI, No.1, 2010.
94
Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, Vol.XXXI, No.1, 2010
60
b. US attacking Pakistan:
The disintegration of Pakistan is one of the objectives that were conceived by the US
administration while invading Afghanistan. In 2001, a covert plan was chalked out as to
how to destabilize, de-Islamize, denuclearize and balkanize Pakistan. Implementation
of the plan started in 2002 by intelligence agencies, International Security Assistance
Force, Karzai and Indian strategists. These conspirators are waiting for the convenient
time when Pakistan would get denuclearized and they will attack or when American
Special Forces will forcefully take over the charge of Pakistani nuclear weapons by
declaring them insecure. These are not mere assumptions or rumors but are also
expressed by the Western analysts who include authors Bob Woodward and David
Sanger. The sinister conspirators are getting impatient with the economic downfall,
socio-political instability; the worsening security situation and the clash between the
executive and judiciary. They are tossing Pakistan from crisis to crisis through their
puppets who are occupying high seats of Pakistani government. This alliance has
weakened Pakistan to a great extent. But whenever their conspiracy fails in breeding
complete submission of Pakistan, they are annoyed. It is all because of the patriotic
Pakistani citizens, armed forces, judiciary and the patriotic religious groups who stand
against the odds as a wall. When in 2009, Barrack Hussain Obama succeeded George W.
Bush as the President of the USA, Muslims and the depressed people in America had
high expectations as the new successor promised to bring about changes and attend to
their grievances.
However, he proved to be worse than the former and started targeting Muslims in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Hamas, Hezbullah and Syria. His foreign policy landed
61
Pakistan in the enemy zone. On one side, he threatened with unilateral operations inside
Federally Administered Tribal Areas, whereas on the other hand he pressed the Pakistan
to increase their operations against the militants. Instead of giving aid to the poor or to
the Muslims, he gave approval for drone strikes against Muslims in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, coupled with cyber warfare against Iran; and drew closer
to the two leading terrorist countries, Israel and India, just like the ones before him. He
doubled the troops in Afghanistan to give an edge over the enemy and also approved
night raids, but it was not enough. So he supplemented his military actions with
diplomatic and political tools, in the light of which he offered negotiations to Taliban.
However, his real motive was not to acquire peace but to break the bond between the
Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and also to divide Taliban by characterizing them into good and
bad. For the success of this policy, to reconcile the reconcilable and isolate the
irreconcilable, he integrated the regional countries. There were efforts by Bush
administration to pressure Musharaf into letting the US Special Forces watch over the
Pakistan nuclear weapons, but they were never given access, although they had been
planning and rehearsing to seize and disable Pakistani atom bombs. When Obama
became President, there were the same battlefield simulation exercises for capturing
Pakistani nuclear weapons. And it was the part of the planning to create fear in the
international community about Pakistan nuclear bombs going into terrorists` hands, and
also to undermine the safety and security apparatus of Pakistan.
There was propaganda about Baitullah and his men to have built dirty bombs and that
they are on the verge of taking over the Islamabad and the Pakistani nuclear facilities. But
this propaganda lost its weight when Pakistan army carried out three successful
62
operations after Fazlullah had taken over Bunre during April 2009. CIA trained a group
of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan to carry out a fake attack on one of the nuclear sites in order
to establish it as a fact for their argument that TTP have acquired fissile material for
building dirty bombs. But ISI learnt about the plan before it could materialize, and
exposed it well in time. Later, propaganda was spread about the workers, who were
religiously conservative, inside the nuclear facilities that they have soft corners in their
hearts for Taliban and they might pass on the nuclear fuel to the Taliban, hence they need
to be expelled immediately. The objective was to spread hatred among them and later
sympathize with them and convert them into their informers. Actually the efforts were
geared since mid-2010 to capture or render the Pakistani nuclear weapons as useless, and
2011 was marked as the year when they were going to get a green signal for their
objective. In the meantime, CIA was extending its network and activities from the tribal
belt and Balochistan to the big cities, through their agents who were occupying key
positions during the Musharaf and Zardari presidency. But their plans were hindered
when Raymond Davis was caught and therefore the plan had to be postponed. The Osama
Bin Laden operation was conducted to test the capability of Pakistani defence and the
public response before embarking on the main objective. In the process, stealth
technology was also used. This operation attracted a lot of anti-Americanism and ISI plus
MI kept close check on the CIA operatives, to prevent future security collapses. These
measures restricted the activities of CIA. Hussain Haqqani was also sacked because of his
involvement in the memogate scandal. It was loss for US, for Haqqani had proved very
helpful since 2010 in letting thousands of CIA agents to enter Pakistan unchecked. Farah
Naz also departed to US, which was also a loss. The trio, Zardari, Gillani and Rehman
63
Malik, also came under pressure of judiciary, military and public anger, who stood
against the corrupt and incompetent leadership.
When Pakistan forces succeeded in Swat and South Waziristan, US tried to push them
into North Waziristan, but they denied the operation. Then there was Kerry-Lugar bill
which was also denied and thirdly CIA operatives who were also kept on the run; it was
then when the frustrated US attacked on two Pakistani check posts in Salala, to
undermine the morale of Pakistan military. But it also went against America, as she had
to vacate Shamsi airbase wherefrom the CIA operated its drones, the NATO supply was
also stopped and the Pakistan army`s intelligence sharing and cooperation were also
stopped. At the same time, the Obama`s diplomatic-political tool failed in bringing about
results. US used Northern Network to continue NATO supplies into Afghanistan; it was
very expensive, both in terms of time and money; but they never apologized for their
aggressive attack in Salala and kept on forcing Pakistan to reopen the NATO supply
routes without settling for any conditions. Nonetheless, US was sure about the reopening
of the routes, considering the deteriorated economic conditions and the slave civilian
government.
The supply line was stopped for seven months, during which had spent hundreds of
million dollars on the supply lines through the Northern route. The civilian government
wanted to open the supply routes keeping in mind the economic and diplomatic pressures
but Pakistan army stood in their way. Difah-e-Pakistan also played her role in this respect
and stopped the civilian leadership. At last, General Allen apologized to General Kiyani
and Hilary Clinton also apologized to Hina Rabbani and US also agreed to pay
$1.2billion as Coalition Security Fund and Kerry-Lugar bill`s installment.
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The reopening of the supply lines have been condemned by Difah-e-Pakistan, PTI, and
PML-N for being against the wishes of the Pakistani citizens, and further that we should
not trust America since her plans have been exposed. Reopening of supply lines and the
continued reception of aid has rendered us prone to the external interventionism. We
could have gotten freedom from the enemy.
Undoubtedly, the people of Pakistan are worried about the future of Pakistan, because the
leaders are least interested in the overhanging threats. While some sane individuals argue
that the words of Woodward and Sanger should be taken as a caution.
This conspiracy theory is a super conspiracy theory, as already stated in the analysis,
which means it connects many conspiracies together and group them under a single grand
conspiracy. There is a good connection of all the conspiracies and events, however, the
lack of evidence as to how does the conspiracy theorist knows the Americans had made
plans about their future actions, is not clearly stated whether it was learnt through
intelligence agencies or is a mere thought process or fanciful idea of his own, like he does
not tells how he knows there was a meeting in 2001 in Afghanistan in which a covert
plan was chalked out about the disintegration of Pakistan; and he says that America
played a fake OBL operation in Abbottabad to test the defence capability and public
response. Again the question is, how does he know it was a fake operation and his stated
objectives were the very objectives of the US administration? However, he does tell
about how it was learnt through ISI that US was training a group of TTP to carry out a
token attack on the Pakistani nuclear sites. Therefore, in my view, there is insufficient
evidence to support his explanations and connections of the few events.
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And if we talk about the conspiracy theorist, he is a qualified conspiracy theorist in my

view. The reason for stating him as a qualified conspiracy theorist is that he has served in
Pakistan army till the rank of a Brigadier and is also a holder of MSc degree in War
Studies. His professional experience is valid with his conspiracy theory.
Matthew Dentith writes in his thesis that if we do not have direct access to the evidence,
then we should look at the expertise of the conspiracy theorist whether he is qualified or
non-qualified. And hence Brigadier (retired) Asif Haroon Raja is a qualified conspiracy
theorist in this very particular case of defence related issue, his conspiracy theory is
warranted in my view, and America does have plans to destabilize Pakistan.
3.3. Conspiracy theories and Pakistani Perceptions of the US

a. Survey:
To find out just exactly how much are Pakistanis under the influence of these conspiracy
theories, a survey was conducted.
i.
Survey plan:
A short survey, and was conducted with two locations selected randomly:
1. Locations:
i.
Quaid-e-Azam University
ii.
Random people at shopping centers:

The random people at shopping centers include elite class at Centaurus and
Jinnah Super, in addition to people at shops that are for general people and in this
case I visited Abpara Chowk. The sole reason behind selecting minimum two
66
locations was to increase the spectrum of survey, so that a lot of many other
people also got analyzed.
ii.
Categories:
Need to analyze different people to know impact. Therefore, the survey was divided into
5 categories:
1. Random people at shopping centers:
The author felt need to survey people from different fields of life, not specifically
students.
2. Students within Quaid-e-Azam University:
The student body represents the large bulk of future decision and opinion makers.
3. Matriculation pass people:
Matriculation certificate is equal to O levels certificate, which means people who have
studied so far are well aware of their surroundings and have good understanding and
analysis of the current affairs.
4. Under matriculation people:
This category of people is less educated and through this survey, the author wanted to
know their extent of awareness with respect to their surroundings.
5. Illiterate people:
In order to not discriminate or belittle this category of people while conducting the
survey because each and every Pakistani has the right and freedom of expression
which gets counted while knowing the public opinion.
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iii.
Findings:
I would like to display my findings using table, pie charts and doughnuts, so as to give a
quick glance at the information that I have gathered.
People
Random
Total: 40
Anti-US
Belief in
Belief in
Accuse US
sentiment
US covert
conspiracy
relations
operations
theorists
with US
22-anti-US
28-believed
19-Believed
20-Accused
3-CA
11-Non anti-
1-did not
9-did not
19-Did not
23-BFBNTC
US
2-Indifferent
believe
1-did not
6-ER
7-Indifferent
9-Not sure
4-Paranoid
know
6-LGD
5-Want
Future
2-RER
Popularity
3-do not know
10-believed
QAU
Students
10-CA
13-anti-US
17-believed
18-did not
32-Accused
16-BFBNTC
20-Non anti-
9-did not
believe
8-Did not
3-ER
US
13-Not sure
3-Paranoid
7-Indifferent
1-Indifferent
9-Want
Total: 40
11-LGD
popularity
Matric
Pass
33-Anti-US
32-believed
5-Non Anti-
3-Did not
1-Did not
29-Accused
19-BFBNTC
believe
believe
10-Did not
10-ER
US
17-believed
Total: 40
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1-CA
8-Indifferent
3-Not sure
2-Do not
know
6-Want
1-Did not
7-LGD
Popularity
know
2-RET
16-Do not
know
Under
matric
33-Anti-US
22-believed
12-Believed
24-Accused
1-CA
3-Non Anti-
5-did not
1-Did not
13-Did not
23-BFBNTC
US
believe
believe
3-Do not
5-LGD
3-Indifferent
2-Indifferent
23-Do not
know
11-ER
1-Did not
11-Not sure
know
Total: 40
know
4-Want
popularity
Illiterate
Total: 40
32-Anti-US
22-believed
1-believed
25-Accused
15-BFBNTC
2-Non Anti
1-Did not
39-Did not
4-Did not
13-ER
5-Indifferent
believe
know
11-Do not
9-LGD
1-Did not
8-Did not
know
know
know
3-Did not
know
5-Not Sure
4-Indifferent
Table 1 Survey Findings
1. Percentage of anti-Americanism in the people who were surveyed:

133/200*100 : 66.5% people hate America.
2. Percentage of surveyed people who believe in US covert operations inside Pakistan:
121/200*100: 60.5 % people were suspicious about America.
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3. Percentage of surveyed people who accused America:

130/200*100:65% people accused America.
It is quite clear from the above calculated % that there is a lot of anti-Americanism, belief
in US covert operations inside Pakistan and people who accuse America for the past
assassinations, events and happenings inside Pakistan.
To understand the collected data more clearly, consider the following charts:
Percentage Composition of AntiUS sentiment in each category

80
100
82.5
82.5
32.5
50
55
%age of Anti-US
sentiment
0
Illiterate
Under
Matric
Matric
QAU Random
Pass Students
Table 2 Percentage Composition of Anti-US sentiment in each category
Percentage within every category

about Belief in US covert
operations
Random
70
QAU Students
42.5
Matric Pass
%age within every

category about Belief in
US covert operations
80
Undermatric
55
Illiterate
55
0
20
40
60
80
100
Table 3Percentage within every category about Belief in US covert operations
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Percentage within every category about

belief in conspiracy theorists
Random
47.5
QAU Students
25
Matric Pass
%age within every category

about belief in conspiracy
theorists
42.5
Undermatric
30
Illiterate
2.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
Table 4 Percentage within every category about belief in conspiracy theorists
Percentage in every category who accuse

US for past events, assassinations and
terrorism inside Pakistan
Random
50
QAU Students
80
Matric Pass
72.5
Undermatric
%age in every category who

accuse US
60
Illiterate
62.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
Table 5Percentage in every category who accuse US for past events, assassinations and terrorism inside Pakistan
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Percentage in Random category about

future relations with US
5
Be friendly but not too

close
7.5
Let government decide

15
End relations
57.5
Continued Alliance
15
Relations on equal terms
Table 6 Percentage in Random category about future relations with US
Percentage in QAU Students about

25
40
Be friendly but not too close

7.5
End relations
27.5
Continued Alliance
Table 7 Percentage in QAU Students about future relations with US
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Percentage in Matric Pass about future

relations with US
2.5 5
25
47.5
End relations
Continued Alliance
Relations on equal terms
17.5
Table 8 Percentage in Matric Pass about future relations with US
Percentage in Under matric pass about

2.5
27.5

57.5
End relations
Continued Alliance
12.5
Table 9 Percentage in Under matric pass about future relations with US
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Percentage in illiterate about future

relations with US
7.5
37.5

40
32.5
Do not know
End relations
22.5
Table 10 Percentage in illiterate about future relations with US
b. Analysis:
After analyzing the data gathered through the survey at the two respective locations,
following conclusions were drawn:
i.
Illiterate people:
If we talk about illiterate people who were surveyed, they are the ones who are only
confined to their jobs. They know nothing about the happenings around them. They can
tell you how to cook, polish shoes, or clean a certain place. But they do not know if there
is anything called conspiracy theorist and what he or she does. They do not know
conspiracy theorists like Zaid Hamid, or General(retired) Hamid Gul, neither what they
say. But still, they are 80% anti-US. The reason they state is, Americans are nonMuslims, and Quran tells us that non-Muslims can never be your friends. These people
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are uninformed of the daily events that occur around the clock, still 55% of them have
belief that Americans are up to some covert operations inside Pakistan. And while they
have no knowledge of the current affairs, 62.5% of them have still accused America for
whatever has gone wrong in the history of Pakistan. Hence, it shows conspiracy theories
never reach this category of people, which means they have no impact on their thinking;
except for one thing, they see everything from the lens of religion, which is why they also
hate Americans for being non-Muslims.
ii.
Under matric:
Under matric, middle or primary level people are no different than illiterate people. They
also do not have much information about the current affairs. They are also absorbed in
their daily lives and in tensions of earning bread and butter instead of wasting time on
who is doing what. They do not care. And they hate America for no other reason but
being a non-Muslim country, which automatically qualifies US to be their enemy and this
is why illiterate tops the anti-US sentiments` percentage with 82.5. In my observation and
analysis, they are the ones who are easily affected by conspiracy theories, because they
have the basic knowledge and skills of reading and apprehending newspapers, and
listening to television shows and radio programs; and whatever is broadcasted, they are
going to believe it, instead of going for in depth study. Perhaps, it is because they are not
highly educated and do not know what conspiracy theories are and what exactly their
reality is. Rather they would readily subscribe to it and then claim it to be their own
judgment and self-analysis about events, except for few who would accept, they heard or
read it somewhere which is why now it is their opinion too. This is the reason 30% of
them know the conspiracy theorists. In fact, they are not the only ones but majority of the
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people do not know how to judge and filter information that is spread through media or
other channels of information.
When asked about the future relations with the US, an overwhelming majority said, be
friendly but not too close.
iii.
Matric Pass:
In matric pass category, 82.5 % were against US or had anti-US sentiments. That means
conspiracy theories have a great impact on their minds as is also visible in the
undermatric category that also has scored 82.5% in anti-US sentiments.
80% of them believed in American covert operations inside Pakistan-the category with
the highest number of people believing that Americans are up to some evil, creeping
inside Pakistan. And since they believed with such huge numbers in conspiracy theorists,
72.5% of them also accused America for the past events, attacks, assassinations, and evil
designs inside Pakistan. These people know much more about conspiracy theorists as
compared to the rest categories, except the random category which is ahead of it.
Despite their hostile attitudes towards America, an overwhelming majority of them said
be friendly but not to close with America.
iv.
QAU Students:
The students of Quaid-e-Azam University were not so anti-US. In fact, only 32.5% of
them had anti-US sentiments. It is because only 25% of Quaidians believe in conspiracy
theorists. Means, conspiracy theories do not have much impact on Quaidians. It might be
because they are acquiring higher education and they are taught to question the
authenticity and credibility of propaganda or information, they come across. When we are
talking about Quaidians, we are talking about researchers, and researchers do not
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subscribe to something so easily unless they test it. But interestingly, 17.5% of them are
indifferent as to who America is or what her motives are. Apparently, they are too
occupied by their own assignments and research. With that said, only round about two
quarters of them believe in US covert operations, inside Pakistan; but it does not mean
Quaidians are off to slumber; 80%of them accuse America for the past events and
terrorism inside Pakistan. That shows, they are more interested in learning and
researching themselves about the US involvement in Pakistan than listening to conspiracy
theorists. We cannot say majority of Quaidians accuse US because conspiracy theories
have effect on them, since the findings show only 25% of the Quaidians know and
believe in conspiracy theorists. And when asked for future relations with the US, a
majority of them asks to be friendly but not too close to America.
v.
Random:
People at shopping centers and shopping malls were surveyed. They included students,
and professionals from different institutions. More than half of them, 55%, had anti-US
sentiments. It is not shocking, because 47% of them believed in conspiracy theories
regarding America. 70% of them believed in US covert operations, which is undoubtedly
a big figure; however, it accused US much lesser, as compare to the entire rest categories,
for the past events, assassinations, and terrorism inside Pakistan. And when asked about
future relations with the United States of America, majority of them wanted Pakistan to
be friends towards US but do not get too close.
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3.4. Anti-US sentiment and conspiracy theories

Although, the study has identified more than a dozen conspiracy theories regarding
America, but keeping the time constraint in mind, not all could be analyzed them all one
by one. So those which were important or encompassing the great number of
conspiracies, like the article written by Brigadier (retired) Asif Haroon Raja, which is a
super conspiracy theory were discussed and one gets to know about the umpteen
conspiracy theories that are grouped under a single grand conspiracy theory.
A conclusion easily reached was that America does pose a threat to Pakistan. The very
first conspiracy theory regarding the death of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaqat
Ali Khan, shows how America had been working against the state of Pakistan from day
one. And the subsequent apparent and overt drone attacks inside Pakistan, the Salala
check posts attack, and the 2nd May Osama Bin Laden operation does shows that America
still has covert operations going on inside the territory of Pakistan; especially, the corrupt
leaders who were sold at the hands of America, and who promoted her interests in this
region.
Therefore, America has undoubtedly involvement inside Pakistan. The policies of
Pakistan do have an impact or a stamp of American approval. There are corrupt
Pakistanis, who can jeopardize their country for the sake of money or individual benefits,
and this is what has always helped the America to meddle in our politics.
a. Are these conspiracy theories increasing anti-Americanism?

In my view and analysis, these conspiracy theories are indeed playing the role of stimuli
to arouse the feelings of hatred for Americans. But the reason why I had chosen five
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different categories for my survey is to know what exactly people are doing and who is
getting an impact from the conspiracy theorists.
There are illiterate people who at first do not even know if America is a man or a woman,
let alone be their interaction with Pakistan. But somehow, they know America is not a
Muslim and that is why they feel threatened and hate America. If we talk about
conspiracy theories, they never reach the ghettos where these people are living their lives.
It is as if they are living in their own bubbles where they have their own small world,
surrounded by seclusion and ignorance. This is the reason the US has started funding
these illiterates who are generally farmers. This is a campaign launched for perception
management, to win their hearts and replace the hatred with admiration.
Then there are the under matric and matric people who also constitute the labor class
of our society, same as the illiterates, but the difference is, the under matric and the
matric pass have acquired somewhat knowledge, which lets them interact with the
people at a broader level. Their influx can be seen in bazaars and in markets. They are the
ones, who can be easily misled, of course not in their small scale businesses in which
they are very skilled, but once their religion and country plus the overhanging threats to it
are conveyed to them, they start hating the newly found enemy.
However, educated people and the scholars are not taken aback by some conspiracy
theory when it lands in the newspaper or on television. They know what media is and
what different programs are aired for.
b. Why do Pakistanis hate America apart from conspiracy theories?

While conducting the survey, I came across few interesting facts which help in explaining
the anti-Americanism inside Pakistan.
79
i.
Hate without any reason:
There is a strange reason of hatred amongst some illiterate and the under matric people,
and the reason for that hatred is that they do not know why do they hate America.
ii.
Non-Muslims:
This view was generally expressed by the illiterate, under matric and matric pass people.
According to them, America is a non-Muslim country, and Islamic teachings tell them
non-believers can never be their friends, which means they are enemy.
iii.
Hatred for hatred:
They never show respect to us as a nation, and neither as the followers of Islam. They
have been inflicting hardships on Muslims around the world.
iv.
Afia Siddiqui:
Afia Siddiqui is also one of the reasons why Pakistanis hate America. According to them,
America has tortured her in many ways, which violates all laws of humanity.
In this chapter, Pak-US relations were studied from a conspiracy theorist`s view. Most
popular conspiracy theories regarding US were identified but only two of them were
analyzed due to the time restraint. To understand the Pakistani perceptions about the
United States of America, a survey was undertaken to study people`s mind and an effort
was made to understand the underlying reasons of anti-Americanism inside Pakistan.
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CHAPTER FOUR: SELF-PROPOSED CONSPIRACY

THEORY
This brief chapter deals with an experiment with a self-proposed conspiracy theory, to
check peoples response and test how such notions gain credence.
4.1. Conspiracy theory in the making:

In order to gauge peoples reception and test the strength of a rumor that blows into a
conspiracy theory, the author with the help of his class fellows and few others, as
mentioned in the following narrative decided to spread a conspiracy theory about old
Social huts (refreshment and socializing places on campus), being relocated to another
location, owing to their being haunted. The workers were compelled to relocate as the
ghosts had conspired against the workers of Social huts and warned them to stop
transgressing the so-called territory of ghosts and finally forced them into changing the
location. For this reason, certain people were taken into confidence, which included the
workers of Social huts and administrators of our university pages and groups. The initial
test group for this experiment were authors immediate course mates, which if proved to
be successful, would spread to the entire department and that will automatically lead to a
widespread of the news; of course the process was also to be carried out on the afore
mentioned university pages and groups. The last being the media through this
conspiracy could be spread out better, message conveyed subtly and indirectly to the
students and see what reactions were made by them in response to it. The subjects would
either believe the conspiracy theory or rebuke it.
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It was further made sure that this propaganda would not affect or harm anyone in any
manner, particularly the administration and the influx of students to that very old location
of Social huts which was now already abandoned but still used for the repairing of buses.
4.2. Plan and Implementation:

The plan was to firstly persuade an elder of the workers of Social huts, into joining the
author in telling people that they had experienced ghosts at the last location and changed
to the new location because they could not tolerate any more to be bugged.
Secondly, after permission from the supervisor, help was sought out from friends in
spreading the story through word of mouth as well as social media.
4.3. Peoples response:

There were mixed reactions from people`s side on the posts in Facebook. With friends
playing a major role in helping spread and strengthen the story, various responses were
brought forth. Through the social media, there was some outright blind affirmation to our
claims, partly by friends and partly by those who readily believed in the story without any
further check. Then there were a group of skeptics and of course some who outright
rejected the notion and trashed it. Since there was little discussion at the departmental
level, we once again reintroduced the discussion, soon finding a person who believed in
ghost stories and this helped us in strengthening and spreading the theory further. To
make the story look more genuine, a video was made by the name of DSS leaks and
posted on social media site Facebook page DSS Family along with an interview of an
elderly worker from the social huts,95 who initially denied to help, but later willingly
95
Haunted Social Huts, Vimeo, http://vimeo.com/82001461.
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became part of this entire charade; thus making our story look extremely credible and
trustworthy.
4.4. Deductions:
No one asked the author for any proof or any evidence to prove the conspiracy theory,
except for one female student who commented that there was nothing special said in the
video that was also made to make the story look more credible. However the interview of
the elder person from Social huts played a vital role in lending us credibility. Since he is a
very honest person coupled with our video and my convincing explanation, there was
hardly room for any question to be asked. Although, Quaidians are not that easily
convinced since everyone is a researcher and knows to question the credibility of a
statement. It is possible, of the group of thousands of Quaidians, majority did not find the
video to be too interesting, or perhaps they were too occupied by their hectic schedules of
study, as it were the last months and people had assignments and sessional on the list.
Nonetheless, it shows that conspiracy theorists usually face no trouble while giving their
explanations about events. It also shows, how nave and careless our society is. They
would never bother themselves to ask for any evidence, but would trust anything and
everything with mere reference of a person, which is a blunder, since anyone can drive
them astray and exploit them to spread propaganda to defame or undermine anyone in our
society. Perhaps, this is Pakistani society which is why people are so prone to falling
victim to a conspiracy theory; they would never inquire rather further proliferate the
message and help in the propagation. The author feels that this is the reason, why there is
so much of anti-Americanism inside Pakistan. One person hates America and blames her
for something, another does the same, then a bandwagon is formed and everyone blames
83
America for everything that is wrong with Pakistan, even for load shedding and the hike
in the prices, instead of accepting our own faults. This hatred is spreading like a fire in
the woods.
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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

This thesis was undertaken with several objectives in mind, those being to:
i.
Identify the famous conspiracy theories inside Pakistan.
ii.
Analyze the allegations, conspiracy theories, whether they speak of any

credibility or are merely the output of fiction story writing.
iii.
Find out as to who the conspiracy theorists are and what their objectives for
writing such theories are.
iv.
Analyze the impact of those conspiracy theories on Pakistani citizens.
v.
Make clear whether America really had or has any involvement in Pakistani
politics.
vi.
Also to check, whether those conspiracy theories are solely responsible for the
anti-Americanism with which Pakistan is booming.
a. The findings are:

i.
Have found out a number of popular conspiracy theories about America.
ii.
Due to time limitation, not all the conspiracy theories could be analyzed as per
plan. So selected number of theories that have a significant bearing on popular
perception were highlighted and discussed. With regards two conspiracy
theories, pertaining to Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khans assassination and the
super conspiracy theory of Brigadier (retired) Asif Haroon Raja, brought about
the conclusion that these conspiracy theories are not mere allegations nor the
work of fiction, but the facts about the mysteries of the past that has caused
damage to Pakistan in one way or the other.
85
iii.
These conspiracy theorists, of the two analyzed conspiracy theories, are neither
paranoid nor want any popularity. They are true patriots and good researchers.
They want to uncover the masked conspiracies that have occurred in the past,
so as to let the patriotic Pakistani nation and government officials know about
the truth and the possible threats that they can encounter, as history does
repeats itself.
iv.
These conspiracy theories have definitely educated or led the masses in a

certain direction, but as the findings show, some of these conspiracy theories,
which have not analyzed, may be nothing more than baseless allegations,
which is why researchers and people in general, do not buy what the
conspiracy theorists are trying to sell.
v.
The theories analyzed, have brought this fact to the surface that American
administration did have and still has its involvement in Pakistan affairs. It
would not be wrong to say that they frame our foreign policy to achieve their
ends, and in the process if anyone tries to be a hurdle, has been and will be
removed. It is America, who decides the pro-American leaders for future
Pakistan in order to pave way for US national interests. And to add further,
Americans are well aware that they are always going to get their work done, by
pumping money into Pakistan.
vi.
The presence of conspiracy theories does speak of a reason due to which antiUS sentiments are getting breed. But the facts cannot be denied that Americans
are themselves responsible for spreading hatred for themselves. Their policy of
drones is one of the examples.
86
This thesis was approached impartially, and with a lot of skepticism as this
was a search for truth. Nevertheless, every event has a logical and coherent
explanation to it and that is what is required to analyze and believe in instead
of readily dwelling on conspiracy theories.
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91

Conspiracy Theories and Security Threats: A Case Study of Pakistani Perceptions About The United States of America

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Conspiracy Theories and Security Threats

A Case study of Pakistani perceptions about the United States

Written by: Jawad Ali Khan

Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Table 1 Survey Findings .................................................................................................. 69

c. 2nd May OBL Operation: ....................................................................................... 29

i. Kerry-Lugar bill: ................................................................................................... 48

well as security challenges. It is therefore important to develop a mechanism that could

Chapter 4 presents a self-constructed experiment by the author to gauge peoples

CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS A CONSPIRACY THEORY?

article published in The American Historical Review.9Merriam-Webster Dictionary,

Oed.com,s.v.conspiracy theory, accessed September 25, 2013,

Bashams definition refers to an event that is intentionally manipulated, or is in other

Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p.33.

Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p.20.

Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p.22.

Allegations: All conspiracy theories are allegations until proven otherwise.

Secrecy: Everything is planned in secrecy.

Objective: There is an ultimate desired goal.

Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p. 24.

d. Developing a working definition of conspiracy theories:

Dr. Matthew Dentith, Facebook message to author, December 5, 2013.

a. Shallow Vs. Deep Conspiracy Theory:

Shallow Conspiracy Theory: In this conspiracy theory, the theorist looks at a

b. Enemy Within to Benevolent theories: Book editor, writer and blogger,

Murray N. Rothbard, Mises Daily, http://mises.org/daily/author/299/Murray-N-Rothbard.

United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory, which was published in

Enemy Within: This type of conspiracy theory portrays an unrecognizable enemy

c. Level of Analysis Approach:

Event Conspiracy Theory: This type of conspiracy theory associates a conspiracy

Systematic Conspiracy Theory: In this type of conspiracy theories, there are

Hodapp and Kannon, op. cit.

c. 2nd May OBL Operation:

OBL commission report: some questions, Dawn, July 27, 2013,

CHAPTER TWO: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, THEORISTS

Their conspiracy gets revealed before the objective is achieved.

Quoted by Matthew Dentith, op. cit., p.71.

The conspiracy gets botched;

2.2. Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?

State policies: When a certain faction of a society is mistreated, they start to

For example Project MKULTRA-The CIAs Mind Control and LSD

2.3 Conspiracy theorists:

a. Who are they?

b. How do they work:

c. Historians and conspiracy theorists:

d. Qualified and non-qualified conspiracy theorists:

Tools to analyze conspiracy theories:

a. Try to find official plus non-official explanations:

b. Question the conspiracy theory:

Who is the conspiracy theorist?

Is there an evidence to support the explanation?

Who are the endorsers?

Dentith, op. cit., p.75.

Dentith, op. cit., p. 77.

Prefer official statements over conspiracy theories:

Institutional support is support by institutions or officials.66 It can be independent of the

Prefer academic endorsement over political endorsement:

Matthew Dentith says, if academics endorse some theory, it is through a well-established

Dentith, op. cit., p. 103.

Disinformation and the selective use of evidence:

According to him, disinformation is telling lies to people.71

Selective use of evidence:

Selection in evidence is selecting a part of evidence from the available information, or