ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information technology (IT) ministry said on Saturday that global tech giant Microsoft was not retreating from the Pakistani market and was only moving to a partner-led, cloud-based delivery model in the South Asian country.
The statement followed media reports about the closure of Microsoft’s office and lay-off of a small number of employees in Pakistan, sparked by a LinkedIn post by a former head of Microsoft in the country.
The Pakistani IT ministry said the tech giant had shifted its licensing and commercial-contract management for Pakistan to its European hub in Ireland in recent years, while its day-to-day service delivery had been handled entirely by certified local partners.
“Against that backdrop, we understand Microsoft is now reviewing the future of its liaison office in Pakistan as part of a wider workforce-optimization program,” the IT ministry said in a statement.
“This would reflect a long-signalled strategy, consolidating direct headcount and moving toward a partner-led, cloud-based delivery model, rather than a retreat from the Pakistani market.”
Pakistan’s IT sector has witnessed a significant growth in recent years, reaching $3.4 million from July 2024 till May 2025, compared to $2.9 million during the same period the previous year, according to the Pakistani central bank.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has been striving to further increase these exports to support the $350 billion economy, and the IT ministry sought to allay concerns about the clousure of the Microsoft office.
It said the global pivot from on-premise software (transactional deals) to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) continues to reshape how technology firms structure their international operations, and Microsoft is no exception.
“Pakistan’s Ministry of IT & Telecom recognizes the strategic value of having leading global technology providers active in the country,” the ministry said.
“We will continue to engage Microsoft’s regional and global leadership to ensure that any structural changes strengthen, rather than diminish, Microsoft’s long term commitment to Pakistani customers, developers and channel partners.”
