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Pakistan wants Facebook’s parent company to establish local office

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2 years ago

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  • 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.

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FO admits that a boat capsized in Greece, killing four Pakistanis.

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1 week ago

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The deaths of four Pakistanis in a boat capsizing event close to the southern Greek island of Goudos have been verified by the Foreign Office.

The incident happened on Sunday and at least five illegal immigrants drowned as a result. According to Greek Coast Guards, 39 people were rescued after the wooden boat overturned, but 40 more are still unaccounted for.

According to a Foreign Office spokeswoman, the four Pakistani nationals were among those killed in the catastrophe. In order to help the remaining Pakistanis and repatriate the corpses of the deceased, the Pakistani Embassy in Athens has been in close communication with Greek authorities, she said.

Additional information was given by Aamir Aftab Qureshi, Pakistan’s ambassador to Greece, during a press conference. According to him, there were 80 Pakistanis on board the doomed boat, and efforts are still being made to find the people who are still missing.

He added that the overcrowding on the boat was a factor in the capsizing. There are worries over the safety of the missing people because a sizable portion of them are children. He stated that five boats carrying Pakistani nationals were traveling illegally from Libya.

The public was also informed by Ambassador Qureshi that the government will pay for the return flight of the accident victims’ bodies.

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Every office will have a biometric system installed by Lesco.

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2 weeks ago

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system in each office.

Details show that the LESCO had ordered the installation of biometric systems in all offices, including the divisions and the circle.

The installation of the biometric system at the headquarters resulted in an increase in attendance, as the LESCO CEO had stated.

The CEO of LESCO claimed that the biometric system has resolved the issues related to the fictitious overtime and off-days.

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Around 450 Pakistanis have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to a briefing from the Foreign Office.

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Approximately 450 Pakistanis, including 250 Zaireen, have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

During her weekly briefing at the foreign office in Islamabad, she stated that Pakistan is pleased with the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on the Gaza Strip, which calls for an immediate ceasefire.

In addition, she expressed her satisfaction with the elimination of limits placed on UNRWA’s ability to carry out relief activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

It was stated by her that Pakistan is demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in Palestine, an end to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for those who are in urgent need, full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its mandated humanitarian activities, and medical assistance for those who are in urgent need.

Moreover, she stated that Pakistan emphasises the need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that it has committed in occupied lands.

The Israeli aggression against Syria, the illegitimate acquisition of Syrian territory, and the massive devastation of Syrian infrastructure as well as civilian and military sites are all topics that Pakistan is extremely worried about, according to the spokesperson for Pakistan.

According to her, this attack on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is a serious violation of international law to the highest degree. By expressing our support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we are also expressing our opposition to the Israeli government’s attempt to acquire territory through coercion.

The resolution 497 of the United Nations Security Council, which declares the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel to be null and illegal and to have no international legal impact, was reaffirmed by her organisation.

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