PM orders authorities to resolve all issues relating to Meta operations in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered authorities to resolve all issues relating to Meta operations in Pakistan, Sharif’s office said on Tuesday, amid complaints of slow Internet in the South Asian country.
Sharif issued the directives at a meeting with a five-member Meta delegation, led by Meta Vice President for Asia Pacific Simon Milner, in Islamabad.
The development came amid snail-paced Internet speeds in the country in recent weeks, which have particularly affected online businesses and freelancers.
During the meeting, the Meta delegation apprised the prime minister of their services in Pakistan and the Asia Pacific region, according to Sharif’s office.
“Both sides expressed their resolve to work together for the development and promotion of digital media and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors in Pakistan,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Meta, a California-based American multinational technology conglomerate, owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp among other products and digital services.
The meeting came days after the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) warned that frequent Internet disruptions and low speeds caused by poor implementation of a nationwide firewall had led many multinational companies to consider relocating their offices out of Pakistan, with some having “already done so.”
Pakistan has been installing the firewall to block malicious content, protect government networks from attacks, and allow the government to identify IP addresses associated with what it calls “anti-state propaganda,” according to officials.
Separately, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said last Thursday that Pakistan’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to Internet disruptions caused by the imposition of the firewall.