Pakistan

Pakistan wants Facebook’s parent company to establish local office

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari meets Meta’s Nick Clegg on sidelines of UNGA.
Meta affirms interest in continued engagement with Pakistan.
Clegg says Meta’s Pakistan team comprises entirely of Pakistani professionals.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has asked a high-ranking Meta official to open their company’s office in Pakistan in a bid to facilitate communication between the local authorities and the social media giant.

Facebook is now called Meta, the company announced last year, in a rebrand that focuses on building the “metaverse,” a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the successor to the mobile internet.

The foreign minister met Meta’s Global Affairs President Nick Clegg on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 77th session, where he is part of the delegation representing Pakistan.

The foreign minister, talking about the opportunities available in Pakistan, said that the country has a tech-savvy young population (64% below the age of 30), high teledensity, massive digitisation of the economy, and a business-friendly regulatory regime.

“Pakistan’s IT sector has registered strong growth in the recent past opening new opportunities for platforms like Meta to expand its operations in Pakistan”, the foreign minister told the social media company’s official.

Clegg said that Meta’s Pakistan team comprises entirely of Pakistani professionals. He briefed the foreign minister on Meta’s ongoing connectivity and capacity-building programmes in Pakistan.

Clegg reaffirmed Meta’s interest in continued engagement with Pakistan to explore modalities of further strengthening collaboration in digital space.

In October last year, the government introduced Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2021, directing social media platforms to register themselves with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). However, it has borne no fruit so far.

Flood help

FM Bilawal also thanked Meta for donating Rs125 million for humanitarian assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the deadly floods.

“These are testing times for Pakistan and this donation would be helpful for our flood relief operations,” FM Bilawal noted.

The foreign minister said after the floods, the task of full recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction cannot be accomplished without the support of the private sector.

In response, Clegg expressed his solidarity and sympathy with Pakistan on the devastation caused by unprecedented floods.

Record monsoon rains and glacial melt in northern Pakistan triggered the flooding that has impacted nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $30 billion. Scientists say the disaster was exacerbated by climate change.

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods are living in the open and as flood waters spread over hundreds of kilometres (miles) start to recede — which officials say may take two to six months — stagnant waters have led to diseases like malaria, dengue fever, skin and eye infections and acute diarrhoea.

In what UNICEF described as a situation “beyond bleak,” it said an estimated 16 million children have been impacted by the floods, and at least 3.4 million girls and boys remain in need of immediate, lifesaving support.

The government says GDP growth will likely drop to 3% from a previous estimate of 5% for the 2022-23 financial year.

Latest News

Rainfall throughout the night stops flights in Lahore.

Published

21 hours ago

Farwa

Allama Iqbal International Airport experienced many hours of flight disruption due to the intense rainfall and windstorms that occurred overnight in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.

Aviation sources claim that because of the monsoon weather, the flight operation was unable to operate between 3 and 4 am.

It is possible that the planes will arrive at the airport at 4 am.

Amidst delays in foreign airline flights, three aircraft made landings in Multan and Peshawar.

Riyadh flights arrived in Peshawar Airport, while flights scheduled to land in Lahore in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain ended up landing in Multan Airport.

Seven hours later than scheduled, the Qatar Airways flight from Doha arrived in Lahore.

Because of the bad weather, there are delays in the arrival and departure of numerous international planes.

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Changes to Pakistan’s Test team could be significant for the Bangladesh series.

Published

21 hours ago

Farwa

Major changes to Pakistan’s team are anticipated ahead of the forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh, sources in Lahore have revealed.

As the team gets ready for the series, meetings with the players are planned for next week.

It is predicted that the Test squad would undergo several changes. The team’s lineup is expected to be strengthened by the likely inclusion of Muhammad Huraira. Key players like Faheem Ashraf, Wasim Jr., Saim Ayub, and Nauman Ali, whose contributions are vital to the team’s success, struggle to get a spot on the squad.

Furthermore, according to sources, Imamul Haq or Sahibzada Farhan are anticipated to be added to the team, subject to additional assessment. Furthermore, following a fitness assessment, Amir Jamal and Hasan Ali’s futures will be determined.

The ultimate selection for the Test team will take place following Red Ball head coach Jason Gillespie’s return to Pakistan. The ultimate squad that will play Bangladesh in the forthcoming Test series will be greatly influenced by his assessments and thoughts.

Pakistan is scheduled to visit New Zealand in March and April of 2025, according to the country’s official cricket schedule, which was released earlier this month.

Throughout their visit, the Pakistan cricket team will play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in an exciting series.

The T20I series, which starts at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on March 16, will serve as the tour’s opening event.

Latest News

PM Meets With KP Lawmakers: Promises Progression and Relief Efforts in Province

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhawa lawmakers are given assurances by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the province’s development, namely in the amalgamated districts, with a particular emphasis on the provision of standard health and educational facilities.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa National and Provincial Assembly members paid a visit to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at PM House.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister stated that the PML-N Government has always given priority to the development of the combined districts.

The prime minister promised that the combined Districts would have standard health and educational facilities, and that Danish Schools would be established nearby to offer local pupils an education of the highest caliber possible.

The PM also underlined the importance of promoting solar energy, combating electricity theft, and helping the middle class and impoverished.

He said that in order to boost the agriculture sector’s growth, expand the amount of land under cultivation, and reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign fuel imports, the government was converting agricultural tubewells to solar energy nationwide.

According to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the government recently provided significant reduction from electricity rates for those with low and moderate incomes.

At the event, he also announced the creation of a committee headed by the deputy prime minister, whose goal will be to identify long-term solutions to the issues facing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s elected officials.

He argued that in order to preserve the nation from going into default, the current government had to make difficult political choices in order to revitalize the economy.

The parliamentarians gave Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif high marks for his visionary leadership in transforming Pakistan’s economy.