Microsoft has officially ended its operations in Pakistan after 25 years, a move described by the company’s founding country head as a serious warning about the country’s business environment.
Jawwad Rehman, who launched and led Microsoft Pakistan since June 2000, announced the closure on LinkedIn. He confirmed that the last employees had been formally informed, marking the end of Microsoft’s direct presence in Pakistan.
“This is more than a corporate exit. It’s a sobering signal of the environment our country has created… one where even global giants like Microsoft find it unsustainable to stay,” Rehman wrote.
Rehman said the foundation built in the early 2000s was promising, but the necessary support and vision to keep a company like Microsoft in Pakistan did not follow. He also reflected on what might have been lost over time in terms of leadership and values that once made the environment favorable for global firms.
He urged policymakers and business leaders to reflect on what changed and what led to this development. “We must ask: What changed? What was lost? What happened to the values, leadership, and vision that once made it all possible?” he said.
Rehman also called on Pakistan’s Ministry of IT and government officials to engage with Microsoft’s global leadership in hopes of maintaining some level of presence in the country, even as reports confirm a near-complete shutdown.
Microsoft’s withdrawal follows years of reducing its footprint in Pakistan, with only a small liaison office remaining until now.
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