Months after announcing a global restructuring programme, Procter & Gamble Co. said it would be closing its operations in Pakistan. The Cincinnati-based firm stated in a statement that P&G Pakistan, which produces Tide detergent and other home products, will stop its manufacturing and commercial operations as well as its razor division, Gillette Pakistan Ltd. It stated that it will keep serving customers from other businesses in the area.
In June, P&G declared that, as part of an operational revamp, it would reduce the number of brands it owned and lay off up to 7,000 employees over a two-year period. In order to account for the effects of trade tariffs and deteriorating consumer patterns, the company likewise reduced its guidance.
Reason for P&G’s Exit
In light of broader business and economic issues, such as restrictions on profit repatriation and low demand, P&G is the most recent multinational to reduce its operations in Pakistan. Gillette, after hitting a record three billion rupees two years prior, saw Pakistan’s revenue nearly halve in the fiscal year that concluded in June 2025.
Despite being the fifth most populated country in the world, international corporations have retreated from Pakistan in recent years, including Shell Plc, Pfizer Inc., TotalEnergies SE, and Telenor ASA. Last year, P&G sold its Pakistani soap production plant to Nimir Industrial Chemical Ltd.
P&G and Pakistan Bonding
After entering Pakistan in 1991, P&G became one of the leading consumer goods companies in the nation, with well-known brands like Pampers, Safeguard, Ariel, Head & Shoulders, and Pantene. In 1994, it acquired a soap plant, and in 2010, it acquired a detergent facility, further increasing its local presence. According to an official statement, the company has determined that the most sensible approach to continue serving customers in Pakistan at this time is to use a third-party distribution strategy.
Employees would be given consideration for separation packages or overseas assignments, it stated. The board of Gillette Pakistan will convene to discuss discontinuance measures, including potential delisting. Its stock surged to a three-week high, surpassing the daily limit of 10%.
Saad Amanullah Khan, a former CEO of Gillette Pakistan, stated, “I hope such exits make the rulers aware that all is not well,” pointing to regulatory pressures, high power bills, and inadequate infrastructure. In order to “stop hearing of multinational exits”, he expressed his optimism for improved circumstances.
Quick Shots
•Move follows Shell, Pfizer, TotalEnergies, and
Telenor exits in recent years.
•Decision driven by low demand, trade restrictions,
and economic challenges.
•P&G Pakistan had been operational since 1991,
with brands like Pampers, Safeguard, Ariel, Head & Shoulders, Pantene.
•Company sold its soap plant last year to Nimir
Industrial Chemical Ltd.
•P&G will continue serving customers via
third-party distribution.
•Employees offered severance packages or overseas
assignments.
According to internet observer NetBlocks, damage to subsea cable infrastructure in the Red Sea caused extensive interruptions for internet users in India, Pakistan, and areas of the Middle East. The disruption has brought attention to how vulnerable the world’s digital infrastructure is, as it is mostly dependent on underwater cables for connectivity.
Reuters claims that the outage’s effects extended beyond South Asia. Online service access issues were also observed by users in the United Arab Emirates, especially for those utilising the Etisalat and Du networks.
NetBlocks verified the interruptions and linked the issue to cable infrastructure malfunctions close to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Possible Causes of Red Sea Cable Damage
However, it is still unclear what or who damaged the subsea cables. Unintentional anchor drags, natural disasters, or, in rare instances, deliberate sabotage are frequently blamed for such outages. A sizable amount of the world’s internet traffic is carried by undersea fiber-optic cables, which are primarily concentrated in the Red Sea region.
Authorities in the tiny, oil-rich country of Kuwait also reported that the FALCON GCX cable that crosses the Red Sea had been severed. A vital component of the worldwide internet infrastructure, submarine cables are susceptible to intentional attacks or ship anchors. It usually takes weeks to repair, and specialised vessels are needed to find and repair the damage.
The disturbance occurs as Houthi rebels in Yemen continue their attacks connected to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Although there has been increased conjecture regarding their involvement in attacking submerged infrastructure, the group has denied any prior accountability.
Microsoft Diverted its Internet Traffic
Microsoft, a multinational technology giant, said that one of the services impacted by the event was its cloud computing platform, Azure. Microsoft warned in a statement that “multiple undersea fibre cuts in the Red Sea” may result in greater latency for Azure users.
According to Reuters, Microsoft has rerouted traffic via other routes outside of the Middle East in order to lessen the impact. The business explained that other international services are unaffected, even if internet traffic passing through the area can experience delays. According to Microsoft, the business does anticipate certain traffic that has previously passed through the Middle East to have higher delay. There is no effect on network traffic that does not pass through the Middle East.
Since undersea cable systems are the foundation of international internet services, the event highlights growing worries about their security and upkeep. Businesses, cloud services, and individual users can all be impacted by outages in these networks, according to experts, which can spread across countries. Maintaining the reliability of these vital infrastructure systems is now more important than ever due to the growing reliance on cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
Quick Shots
•India, Pakistan, UAE among most affected regions;
UAE users of Etisalat and Du faced disruptions.
•Outage traced to cable malfunctions near Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, says NetBlocks.
Turbulence has struck Pakistan’s financial markets in April, with border tensions between India and Pakistan growing to a peak that hasn’t been seen in years. A deadly terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir that left more than 27 people dead has caused diplomatic relations to go even further downhill between the two nuclear neighbors. Pakistan’s Information Minister has warned that military engagement could be right around the corner, which has sent investor anxiety levels up and stability-seeking capital flowing out of the country’s financial markets.
Pakistan’s financial instruments are suffering as a result of the geopolitical backdrop. The country’s dollar bonds have fallen almost 4% in April, and its equity markets have dipped nearly 3%. Foreign capital is stepping back, and local market sentiment is deteriorating, which makes the situation look even worse.
Divergence Between Indian and Pakistani Markets
Even as political uncertainty weighs down Pakistan’s markets, Indian financial instruments remain resilient. This month the domestic equity and bond markets in India have achieved positive returns, standing in stark contrast to their neighbors to the northwest. The Indian economy, bolstered by relative political stability, seems to have insulated its capital markets from the fallout of border skirmishes.
This contrast highlights an emerging trend: risk-averse capital is flowing away from Pakistan, where political tensions and fears of conflict have reached new heights. Fund managers and analysts say that unless there is a rapid easing of hostilities, the Pakistani stock market will see continued capital outflows and valuation pressures, which will in turn accelerate the widening performance gap between it and the Indian stock market.
A Reversal From Recent Optimism
Prior to the latest friction, Pakistan’s fiscal future was looking brighter. The nation had notched up its finest stock market show in over 20 years just the previous year, a performance driven by, among other factors, dropping oil prices and ascending credit ratings. And with those moves, there seemed to be a gathering interest among investors, a nascent stabilization of sorts.
This progress has now been stalled. What was once seen as a window for growth and capital inflow has shifted into a period of re-evaluation and caution. Although some market observers still maintain a constructive view on Pakistan in the medium term, the short-term outlook has become clouded by the possibility of further instability and external shocks, such as newly imposed US tariffs.
Opportunities Amid the Downturn?
In spite of the current sell-off, some analysts are expressing what can only be called potential silver linings. Avanti Save of Barclays Bank, for instance, notes that the recent slump in bond prices “might create attractive entry points for long-term investors.” Her firm continues to hold an overweight position on Pakistan, banking, as she says, on the notion that geopolitical risk may be short-lived and that economic fundamentals may eventually reassert themselves.
Some, like Thomas Hugger from Asia Frontier Capital, believe that any kind of real recovery will depend on how quickly the tensions ease. If there’s a diplomatic breakthrough, or even just a stabilization in the media rhetoric, confidence from investors could rebound modestly, allowing both stocks and bonds to recover some of the ground that they’ve lost.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan was formed in 1947 after the partition of the British Indian Empire. The country was, initially, a dominion of the British Commonwealth until 1956, when it drafted and framed its own constitution. Ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies through its rapidly growing middle class, the country’s political history since independence is characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as economic and political instability.
Pakistan is geographically, ethnically, and linguistically diverse and is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition.
It was Pakistan’s rising economic crisis that led to a political stand-off between the then Prime Minister Imran Khan and the current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who took office in April 2022. However, the country’s economy has been steadily dwindling as its forex reserves fell to a 9-year low reaching below USD 3 billion in early February 2023. The country’s currency, the Pakistani Rupee, has seen a steep fall to reach Rs. 271.50 against one US dollar. Inflation within the country is at a 48-year high with just enough foreign reserves to cover imports for less than a month. The country’s consumer price index in January 2023 had increased by 27.6% and the wholesale price index increased by 28.5%.
Unsurprisingly, the rising inflation has led to an exponential price increase in essential commodities like wheat, onions, gas cylinders, etc. To add to its woes, the oil companies of the country are on the verge of collapse due to the ongoing economic crises and its currency devaluation. This has also led to a lot of petrol pumps running out of fuel disrupting everyday life. The breakdown of the national electricity grid of the country also led to nationwide power outages, specifically affecting Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar.
Pakistan’s rising expenses are adding to its troubles as the country’s high borrowing led to total debt and liability of Pakistani Rupees 59,697.7 billion in FY ’22. This amount was approximately 89% of the country’s total GDP. Unemployment and poverty are proving huge hindrances to food, healthcare, and wages for the citizens of the country.
Bail-Out Loans & History
By the year 2008, Pakistan’s external debt was Pakistani Rs. 6435 billion. Being an election year, Pakistan People’s Party came to power in that year and during its five-year tenure, increased the country’s debt by 135% to reach Pakistani Rupees 15096 billion by the year 2013. This amounted to 64% of the country’s GDP. A large increase in this debt was domestic with external debt increasing by 22%. Hence the external debt which was at USD 42.8 billion in 2008 reached USD 52.4 billion in 2013.
Pakistan’s Economic Crisis Deepens
The elections of 2013 brought Nawaz Sharif to power under whose rule, the external debt increased by 226.8% from USD 52.4 billion to USD 75.3 billion. The primary reason for this debt increase was the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor through which Pakistan procured loans from China and, in return, awarded contracts to only Chinese companies. This also resulted in high imports from China. Imran Khan came to power in 2018 and subsequently added to the increasing external debt to USD 110.6 billion during his rule.
As per IMF data, it has disbursed 21 loans to Pakistan over the years, the first request emerging from the country as early as 1958. Since then, IMF had agreed to disburse a total loan amount of USD 31.73 billion of which USD 20 billion has been disbursed through different transactions like Stand by Arrangements (SBA), Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Structural Adjustment Facility Commitment (SAFC). An IMF loan is released in these different installments based on certain norms that are set by the lender.
Talks With IMF For Loans
Nathan Porter, leading the IMF mission began talks with the Pakistan government represented by their finance minister, Ishaq Dar, on January 31st, 2023. The talks failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion for Pakistan regarding its immediate requirement of USD 1.1 billion loan amount to prevent the country’s bankruptcy. The country is on the verge of defaulting on its external liabilities and is heavily dependent on the IMF’s loan. The loan amount is a part of the USD 6.5 billion loan program. IMF said – “Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalize the implementation details of these policies.”
Conclusion
As inflation mounts and poverty rules the country, Pakistan is in dire need of monetary help from the IMF. However, this loan is also feared to increase inflation and price hikes for the common citizens of the country, further increasing their burdens. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine hostilities are adding to rising inflation around the globe as well. It remains to be seen, how the current government of Pakistan handles the ongoing economic crisis.
FAQs
Why is Pakistan in an economic crisis?
Pakistan’s economic crisis is caused by economic mismanagement, political uncertainty, high inflation and energy prices, and urgent foreign debt payments.
What role can international organizations, such as the IMF, play in helping Pakistan navigate its economic crisis?
IMF and other international organizations can help Pakistan by providing financial assistance, technical expertise, policy advice, and coordination to support economic growth, but such assistance may come with conditions that could be politically and socially difficult to implement.
What impact has the economic crisis had on the daily lives of Pakistani citizens, particularly those living in poverty?
The economic crisis in Pakistan has made it harder for people, particularly those in poverty, to afford basic necessities like food and healthcare due to rising inflation, unemployment, and expensive imported goods.
What is the impact of the economic crisis on Pakistan’s job market?
The economic crisis in Pakistan has led to rising unemployment rates, limited job opportunities, and job losses in the manufacturing, construction, and public sectors.
YouTube has become a daily part of our life, for most of us, it is the main form of entertainment videos. Apart from the entertainment it also provides information and news, food recipes, and educational videos. You name it and the video-sharing platform has it.
In a span of a few years, YouTube has become a big industry itself. It has become a platform where people can share their talents and can get noticed by the entire world. It is a global platform where one can share any kind of video; it is the second-largest search engine in the world and there is hardly anything that one cannot find on this platform.
This platform enables you an option to communicate with a large audience, people have made it a business, and are earning through it by sharing information, providing entertainment, and sharing their talent and lifestyle.
Through YouTube, many people are getting jobs and have a stable income now because of the content they are providing the world with. It has also given the power to people to provide information and news to the world, but with ‘great power comes great responsibility. Recently the Indian Government has banned 22 YouTube Channels. In this article, we will talk about the reason for the ban and how other YouTube channels can avoid this situation.
“The joy of YouTube is that you can create content about anything you feel passionate about, however silly the subject matter.” -Zoe Sugg
Recently, 22 YouTube Channels were banned by the Indian Government. As per the new IT rules of 2021, it is the first time that YouTube Channels are blocked. Among these 22 YouTube Channels, 18 are Indian channels and 4 are from Pakistan.
It is mainly done because these news channels were spreading fake news and disinformation, which can be a security concern for the country and disrupt the public order. All these happened after the new IT rules came into force. As per reports, these YouTube channels had over a billion viewers before they were blocked.
List of YouTube Channels Banned by the Indian Government
Some of the Indian YouTube Channels that are blocked are:
AOP News
ARP News
LDC News
SS ZONE Hindi
Smart News
Online Khabar
DP News
PKB News
KisanTak
Borana News
News23Hindi
Sarkari News Update
Bharat Mausam
RJ ZONE 6
Exam Report
Digi Gurukul
The Pakistan based News Channels that are blocked by the Government are:
DuniyaMereAagy
Ghulam NabiMadni
HAQEEQAT TV
HAQEEQAT TV 2.0
Why These YouTube Channels Are Banned?
All the 22 channels were reportedly spreading misinformation regarding various topics, which include the Armed forces, Kashmir, Covid-19 and the recent Ukraine-Russia war.
Screenshots of the YouTube Channels released by Indian Government
All these channels were using logos and distorted clips from other news channels and were merging them together and spreading disinformation amongst the public. These were done to gain views from the public. This was creating angst among the public and slowly becoming a national security concern.
How to Not Get Your YouTube Channel Blocked by the Government?
It is a matter of concern for YouTubers as Governments is now stricter with their policies they are blocking channels that are being a ‘threat’ to the nation. So to avoid getting your channels blocked by the Government, you need to follow some rules and they are:
The first thing you need to do is avoid spreading disinformation and fake news to the public by showcasing distorted content in the name of creating content.
Be responsible while creating content, don’t just put it on the platform just for the sake of getting views. Remember, you’re responsible for the effect your content will create on people.
Do your research properly before making the content.
Check out authentic sources before indulging in creating content.
Re-check the facts and learn to differentiate between facts and opinion.
Conclusion
YouTube surely has given us an opportunity to showcase our talent on the global platform by making videos and through this, we can also have a stable income. Apart from this, we can create any type of content and it can blow if it is relatable to our audience. With the IT rules and the Government’s stricter policies, one needs to be more careful while creating any type of content. Especially if it is providing information to the public.
FAQs
Why did the Indian government ban YouTube news channels?
The Indian government banned 22 youtube channels under IT Rules 2021 as the news channels were spreading fake news.
Which are the YouTube channels that are banned?
AOP News, ARP News, LDC News, SS ZONE Hindi, Smart News, Online Khabar, DP News, PKB News, KisanTak, Borana News, News23Hindi, Sarkari News Update, Bharat Mausam, RJ ZONE 6, Exam Report, Digi Gurukul, DuniyaMereAagy, Ghulam NabiMadni, HAQEEQAT TV, and HAQEEQAT TV 2.0 are some of the YouTube channels that are banned by the Indian government.
There is a unique kick in Unboxing something new, a new gadget, a new parcel because it has a sense of surprise in it. India is a country of festivals and we absolutely love to shop but have you ever wondered how these goods are made ? How do they land in the package ready to be used ? How are we able to get dreamy-deals that save us money ? There is a lot of behind the scenes of making a product, packaging the value in a box.
In a world as fast as ours, we tend to forget the process and focus mainly on the outcome. This article talks about a product process and how a brand manages to save costs with countries with cheap labour. We will also discuss Pakistan as an emerging nation with cheap labour.
It is said that Labour is handicapped without capital, and our capital is handicapped without labour. The word labour has direct relations with inputs that we put in to get some final product.
Labour can have many dynamics like mental, physical or social efforts that are required to manufacture something. Essentially on the basis of skillset, labour are of two types – Skilled, Unskilled and in some cases even Semi-skilled.
As the name suggests they are categorised on the basis of skills and training required to make them work effectively. Unskilled labour is the cheapest form of labour and is required to do work that does not require any sort of training.
Global sourcing of Labour
The initial motive of global sourcing of labour is cost savings. With the progress of globalisation, product differentiation in contemporary markets is not that remarkable anymore, to some extent, which leads to a greater emphasis being placed on price competition.
This has especially been the case with consumer products. Besides cost savings, plenty of studies have also identified quality and availability as critical aspects for global sourcing
Cheap Labour and its History
In every society around the globe, employers try to follow the downward trend of cost of labour. Thus, saving themselves the most capital. They pinpoint some stratum of people who are the most vulnerable and employ them with low wages.
This topic can go further to the ‘apartheid’ faced by the South Africans in contrast to white population. Their wages were as low as one-fourteenth of white counterparts even when they comprised around 80 percent of the total population.
Government implementing racist policies, commended employers with greater power over this section of workers. Which in turn employed discrimination among the general public.
Another method employers follow is ‘De-Skilling’ which means to eliminate a skill that is required for a job. Making it easy for a worker to be replaced. This drives down labour cost.
New technologies are also a way to increase competition among workers resulting in less wages. This makes the labour cheap and employers end up with more surplus. These are the usual cases in the world of manufacturing but there are some more natural ways on how labour can be cheap.
Factors like economic development, growth of a nation and per capita income of citizens of the country matters in determining the cost of labour. China has been a global player.
China: The world’s factory
China is considered as a factory for the whole world, the reason being the huge population and cheap availability of labour. This trend was followed for a long time and now it is up for a spin. The world demographics are changing and we are witnessing a downward trend in the employability of labour, the prime reason is rising labour costs.
Due to rising demands of people and rising cost of goods, China is not prized as the ‘cheapest’ country to produce goods anymore. Moreover this phenomenon has led some foreign countries to exit the country and find their nest somewhere else. There are several reports on how the trend is moving.
According to one Report, it is observed that hourly rates in Mexico are lower than that of China. This might not be good news for monopolist China but it is surely good for developing countries where labour is relatively low.
Cheapest Countries in Asia
When the world’s factories are becoming a little expensive, the biggest players in the manufacturing sector are looking for a shift. The new home should obviously be cost effective. To answer this question satisfactorily, we will have to look through a lens of cost. The cheapest countries in the largest continent of the world i.e. Asia are listed below –
India
Pakistan
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Included a Forbes article. This essentially shows where the manufacturing giants could move their base to. The list coincides with the trends that we see every other day, like Tesla coming to India, Apple pondering over ideas to start a manufacturing unit in India, Pakistan becoming the next hub for cheap labour in the world and much more. These are the hotspots where new industries are eyeing for better sustainability.
The land of Pakistan
Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world with a population of over 200 million. These statistics make it an important player in the world. Several studies have concluded that the country entails a good number of workers and manpower. With these numbers we can safely say that the country is rich in workforce.
Is Pakistan the new heir?
A populous country as Pakistan with abundance of labour seems a good choice for industries all over the world. The abundance can be a signal of cheap labour that can be used to produce goods and services with ease and with better efficiency.
Salman Shah of ‘Taskforce on Textile’ during the TEXPO-2019 seminar mentioned that a recent survey concluded that the labour unit in their work in this domain is much cheaper than that of the dominant China. The textile expo (TEXPO) also witnessed clothing brands‘ total presence and active participation during the event.
Moreover, rather than dismissing it as an impediment, we can use this unique aspect as a benefit for our nation. He also mentioned that this trait can become very useful when we talk about China-Pakistan economic corridor projects. Cheap labour in Pakistan can help build a soft spot for the country in the world where it already faces other economic and relational issues.
What is digital labour? How is it different from online labour ? these questions might be popping in your head. The funny thing is that it is easier to understand. There is a famous quote that goes like this – “Software is eating the world”
Almost all people on this planet are witnessing this (Except fewest of third world places) phenomena. We live in a digital era and we work digitally. You are reading this blog on a mobile or other device digitally. So you can easily see the blanket of technology that the world is wearing right now. It’s beautiful and gives us a sense of abundance.
Examples of digital labor might include on-demand platforms, micro level of working and data generated by users of digital platforms like our favourite, social media. Digital labor generally describes work that entails a variety of online tasks. If a country has the structure to maintain this kind of digital economy, then this form of labour can incubate income for citizens without the limits of physical obstacles.
Christian Fuchs cites that of the world’s 2,000 largest transnational corporations 11.6% fell under the umbrella of communications and digital media. Tech companies like Google, Amazon, etc. are shaping the economy in exciting ways.
Pakistan and Digital Labour
Online Labour Supply
A report by the International labour organisation concluded that Pakistan already is the third largest provider of labour for digital or online platforms globally. The report also mentioned that India is the biggest labour supplier. Digital labour can be categorised in two types, location based and online web based.
The web-based platforms are defined in which tasks are performed online or remotely by workers without being physically present. “These tasks may include translation, legal work, financial and patent services, designing and software and freelancing.
Location-based platforms on the other hand are those done in person in specified physical locations by employees. These can include taxi driving, delivery services and home improvement (plumber or electrician), domestic labour and caretakers.
Conclusion
We are witnessing a decline in the Chinese empire of cheap labour. This is true for sure. While companies search for alternatives for meeting their manufacturing demands, Pakistan is going to be seen.
On the other hand, India is a big player and it will shine in the search of manufacturers to find a better place. However, the filter of cheap labour is sharp enough to cut India from the picture and put Pakistan in the spotlight. Who will rule this industry is hard to say because there are a lot of variables involved.
Variables like globe conditions, Pakistan’s relations with the world and need shifts of brands. We live in a beautiful world of change and numerous probabilities. We can study numbers to tell a story but the reality may unfold in its own fashion.
FAQ
Is China still the Low Labour cost country?
No, due to the rising demands of people and the increase in the cost of goods, China is no longer regarded as the ‘cheapest’ country to manufacture goods anymore.
Is Indian Labour cheaper than China?
The hourly wages in India are five times less than in China.
Can Pakistan become the next cheap labour country for the world?
Yes, Cheap labour force in Pakistan can help attract foreign industrialists.
