Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz faced significant backlash on social media after an image surfaced showing an advertisement for Punjab’s IT City displayed in New York’s Times Square.
Maryam Nawaz shared the image of the ad on her X account. The caption of the post read: “Nawaz Sharif IT City on Times Square screens. Punjab making unprecedented strides Alhamdolillah!.”
Perhaps the strategy did not go well with the netizens. The disgruntled netizens questioned the rationale of running an expensive ad at Times Square when internet service and speed disruptions have been reported nationwide in the past few days.
People expressed fury while quoting her tweets on X. One user said: “I really want to understand the thought process behind this abhorrent idea. Someone (probably the queen herself) suggested that while we disconnect internet in Pakistan & disrupt civil liberties in every sense, we’ll show some bs abt IT city at Times Square. Why exactly?”
“Twitter in Pakistan? Banned. Internet? Shitty. Freedom to express on the interned? Monitored and controlled. IT advancements or developments? None. But yes, let’s put up screens in the US. Priorities,” wrote another Twitter user.
“As Pakistan’s internet connectivity deteriorates, as firewalls are installed & crucial apps like Fiverr are blocked, as the masses suffer crippling economic constraints, the PML-N chooses to spend tax payer money to showcase their ‘IT Revolution’ in Times Square. Disgusting,” said Nida Karmani on social media.
https://x.com/AmmarRashidT/status/1823454043022225844
“Punjab govt splurging $’s on Times Square PR for MNS about bringing an ‘IT revolution’. Meanwhile, millions trying to meet deadlines to scrape a living back home can barely download a PDF because the regime’s hobbled the internet to silence criticism. Just incredible audacity,” wrote political commentator Ammar Rashid on X.
https://x.com/arhuml92/status/1823623359063818737
“The cost of a 15 second slot on this billboard is $40. I respect it. Not taking into account the destruction they’re causing to the actual IT sector in Pakistan obviously,” said one of the users while expressing anguish on the advertisement.