The Pakistani government is set to roll out “Beep Pakistan,” a communication application designed for federal officials and employees. The app will initially be limited to government communications but may eventually be opened to broader public use.
Shaza Fatima Khwaja, the state minister for information technology and telecommunication, mentioned that the app is undergoing trial runs within her ministry and will be launched soon among other government departments. When the app was first revealed in August 2023 by then-Minister of IT Syed Aminul Haque, it was described as Pakistan’s alternative to WhatsApp. However, the government is now distancing itself from that comparison.
“Any comparison to WhatsApp is misplaced, as there is no intention to compete with any third-party platform,” Khwaja said.
The announcement comes at a time when Pakistanis have faced numerous disruptions while using the internet. In April, the government confirmed that the social media platform X had been banned since February due to security threats. Recently, users have complained about internet throttling and difficulties accessing multimedia content on WhatsApp.
Information minister Attaullah Tarar denied any issues, attributing them to a global technology outage earlier this month. Mobile data services were also suspended during the country’s elections in February.
Concerns about WhatsApp’s security features have long existed within the Pakistani government, especially after reports in December 2019 that senior officials were targeted by Pegasus, a spyware developed by the Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO. At that time, the government instructed officials to avoid sending sensitive documents via WhatsApp and announced plans to develop a local communication app to ensure security.
Khwaja stated that the new app would ensure data privacy and protection in government communications. While Beep Pakistan will be launched within government departments soon, the app’s design is robust enough to offer it to the general public later if desired. She denied any future plans to block WhatsApp in Pakistan, calling such fears “unnecessary exaggerations.”
“The focus of Beep Pakistan is to provide secure communication to the government, and comparisons with other commercial applications are irrelevant,” she said. “Beep will be an official platform for government communication. For personal communication, citizens may choose whatever platform they want, as long as it is not illegal.”
Babar Majid Bhatti, the chief executive of the National Information Technology Board (NITB), also emphasized that Beep Pakistan should not be compared to WhatsApp. “WhatsApp is a commercial product, whereas Beep Pakistan is an official, unified secure platform. Their purposes and objectives are different,” he said.
Haque, who now heads the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology, said the initiative aims to ensure Pakistan has a homegrown messaging app similar to China’s WeChat and the US’s WhatsApp. Bhatti of the NITB mentioned that the app was developed with the help of Pakistani developers from the private sector but did not disclose details about the safety features or development costs.
“The fundamental pillar of any application, particularly Beep Pakistan, is its safety and security, and I assure you that this application includes all necessary layers, including encryption,” he stated. According to Beep Pakistan’s privacy policy, the app will collect information about the device used, such as location and IP addresses, which will be stored on local servers at the National Telecom Corporation (NTC).
The NTC has previously been targeted by hacking attempts, with the latest attack in May 2022. However, the government clarified that the data centers remained unaffected. Digital rights activists remain cautious about the app’s digital safeguards.
“One of the greatest vulnerabilities of government apps is the exposure of sensitive user data through unsecured data or app assets,” said Ramsha Jahangir, a digital rights expert. “According to Beep’s privacy policy, they will collect sensitive personal information. How can its safety and security be assured?”
Experts also point to other countries that have attempted similar local messaging apps, with varying success. For example, India’s Koo, an X-like social media platform, struggled due to a lack of funding. Jahangir emphasized that local solutions should prioritize respecting users’ privacy rather than increasing government power over the private sector.
