Pakistan's MillatFacebook on the Brink of Insolvency; Seeks Monetary Aid From Users

Pakistan's version of 'halal' Facebook reportedly faces financial crisis and seeks monetary aid from its users for further development. 

MillatFacebook, a Pakistani version of Social networking site was launched a couple of years ago, after the Lahore High Court banned Facebook over profane cartoons. According to a leading international daily, The Express Tribune, the site at the verge of shutdown has sent an email to its users on December 10 asking them to raise funds and bail the site out of its debt bills.

"As you can imagine, cost of running a social network is never easy and very costly. Current month we are facing a shortfall of 581 USD in server payments. (We are paying 1000s of USD in server payments ourselves and now need your helping hand to meet this shortfall)," the email read as quoted by The Express Tribune.

It further added, "We are asking for a contribution from you that will help us towards our goal of keeping this Peaceful Social Network run forever and defeat blasphemer facebook. inshaALLAH, Aameen. Any amount that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated."

The report also cited that as "the e-mail was riddled with factual errors", it left the users skeptical about the claims made in the emails.

According to a leading internet-traffic-information site, websitetrafficspy.com, on an average MillatFacebook draws a crowd of two in a day. If the traffic report is true, the claim for relief-funds in the email to the users seems suspectful, as the site would not require costly equipment to maintain such a low traffic.

The newspaper further suggests that the Pakistani variant of Facebook has always been on the radar of skepticism.

"The Meers appear to despise Facebook, yet have designed MillatFacebook to look almost exactly like their supposed rival." Users of both websites, however, say that MillatFacebook is a far less functional website, with one user going so far as to say that "the quality of user experience is so abysmal that it does not merit the humble title, 'Facebook clone'."

The email asked the users to donate funds through credit cards. According to Umar Zaheer Meer, MillatFacebook's Chief Operating Officer the email barely generated a few donors.