Pakistan refutes Indian media claims of Microsoft exit, confirms continued engagement

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has strongly refuted reports circulated by Indian media alleging that Microsoft has shut down its operations in Pakistan.

In an official statement released, the ministry labelled the reports as false, misleading, and consistent with a broader pattern of anti-Pakistan propaganda.

Clarifying the situation, the ministry stated that Microsoft has never maintained a permanent office in Pakistan, but has operated a liaison office, while its licensing and commercial operations have long been managed from Ireland, in accordance with its global policy.

“Microsoft has not closed any office in Pakistan. The Indian media's claim is baseless. The shift related to the liaison office is part of the company’s global ‘Workforce Optimization Program’,” the statement emphasized.

Read more: Microsoft laying off several thousand employees

The ministry further asserted that Microsoft’s engagement with Pakistan remains active, and there is no indication of a withdrawal or reduction in commitment.

“We are in constant contact with Microsoft and other international tech firms,” the ministry added.

Reports had emerged on July 4 claiming that Microsoft ended its presence in Pakistan after over 25 years as part of a global restructuring and workforce optimization strategy.

However, Microsoft clarified that it is only shifting its operational model, and Pakistani customers will continue to be served through resellers and regional offices.

In a statement to TechCrunch, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed:

“Our customer agreements and services will not be affected by this change. We follow this model successfully in several countries. Our customers remain our top priority.”

The changes reportedly impact five local employees, with Microsoft’s Pakistan team primarily focused on sales of cloud services and software such as Azure and Office.

The company has no engineering operations in Pakistan, unlike its larger setups in India and elsewhere.

Microsoft recently announced a 4% cut to its global workforce, equating to approximately 9,000 jobs, as part of a larger organizational restructuring.

The IT ministry also highlighted that licensing and commercial contract management had already shifted to Ireland in recent years, with day-to-day operations being handled by certified local partners.

“We continue to engage with Microsoft’s regional and global leadership to ensure that these changes strengthen, rather than weaken, the company’s long-term commitment to Pakistani customers, developers, and channel partners,” the ministry concluded.