- Thursday, February 13, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Last week, Apple’s chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook inaugurated his company’s first two retail stores in India — in Mumbai and New Delhi. Hundreds were seen queuing up outside the stores on the launching day and Cook personally took care to welcome them, interact with them and also posed for pictures with them.
The Apple boss also met prime minister Narendra Modi and some other top Indian ministers and said the US multinational was committed to growing across the South Asian nation, which is one of the fastest-growing economes in the world at the moment.
The high-profile opening of the Apple retail stores in India evoked reactions on Twitter from people from the neighbouring country of Pakistan which is witnessing a serious economic crisis, thanks to depleting foreign reserves and record inflation. The reactions were mostly self-mocking and rued Pakistan’s slide.
Columnist Eman Mudassar Tarar said in a tweet that while hundreds were queuing up outside Apple stores in India, people were standing in line to get free flour in Pakistan.
“Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated the first retail store in Mumbai, India. While 100s queued up outside the Apple store in Mumbai, 100s queued up to get free flour bags in Pakistan! What a downfall of the country we have been witnessing since last year!” she said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated the first retail store in Mumbai, India.
While 100s queued up outside Apple store in Mumbai, 100s queued up to get free flour bag in Pakistan!!
What a downfall of the country we have been witnessing since last year!
#AppleStoreMumbai #AppleIndia https://t.co/ZKclkPDgbE— Eman Mudassar Tarar (@the_emantarar) April 19, 2023
Usman Khan, a consultant surgeon and visiting associate professor who calls himself “one of the most experienced key hole surgeon in UK”, posted two pictures of India and Pakistan to show the contrast in situation in the two neighbours both of which took birth in August 1947 through a partition. Khan sad while India was seeing its first Apple store, Pakistan was busy arresting a Chinese person on charges of blasphemy.
“Left: Tim Cook CEO of Apple today inaugurating Apple store in India; Right: Chinese arrested for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan. Welcome foreign investors!” he tweeted while sharing the pictures.
*Left: Tim Cook CEO Apple today inaugurating Apple store in India; Right: Chinese arrested for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan. Welcome foreign investors!* pic.twitter.com/3Xdymp4vcP
— usman khan (@DocUsmankhan) April 19, 2023
Amanullah Kanrani, a member of the Pakistani Senate in the early 2000s, also shared the same pictures with the same description.
*Left: Tim Cook CEO Apple today inaugurating Apple store in India; Right: Chinese arrested for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan. Welcome foreign investors!* pic.twitter.com/p6ceICmNRC
— Amanullah Kanrani (@amankanrani1) April 21, 2023
Muhammad Tariq Bilal, another Twitter user and an information technology professional, said while India had got Apple store, Pakistan had got “establishment” in what is believed to be an apparent reference to the country’s army and intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI, institutions that are known to be powerful in controlling Pakistan’s affairs. He shared a TikTok video showing Cook interacting with a fan, who carried an old Macintosh computer, to come to see the Apple CEO.
India got Apple Store
Pakistan got Simple Establishment ???? pic.twitter.com/EVDE44VzZL— Muhammad Tariq Bilal (@MTariqBilal_) April 21, 2023
Norman Sattar, an academic and Fulbright Fellow, said Pakistan was not even able to take care of the animals in its zoos or its currency, which has plummeted in the last few months.
“Indians celebrate the opening of the first Apple store in Mumbai, Pakistan is unable to take care of its Zoo animals or its currency, even its institutions. For now, we have to do with I-phones,” he said.
Indians celebrate opening of first Apple store in Mumbai, Pakistan is unable to take care of its Zoo animals or its currency, even its institutions. For now, we have to do with I Phones.
— Noman Sattar (@ProfNoman) April 19, 2023
Recently, the country’s GeoTV said in a report that the federal government as well as that in Sindh were considering closing down the zoo in Karachi permanently as the animals kept there were living in terrible conditions and were not being fed properly.
Another user made fun of Pakistan saying while Apple was opening stores in India, Islamabad was trying to get funds from the International Monetary Fund for the 12th time.
“In India, Apple opened Apple store. Meanwhile, Pakistan try to open the IMF door for 12th time,” he said.
In india, Apple opened apple store
Meanwhile pakistan try to opened IMF door for 12th times ? https://t.co/D6vJhZHepL
— David mcallum (@Naturel20796639) April 19, 2023
