Islamabad, Pakistan – The Pakistani government is preparing to launch “Beep Pakistan,” a communication application designed specifically for federal officials and staff. However, the government is requesting that this app not be compared to the popular messaging platform WhatsApp. Shaza Fatima Khwaja, the Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunications, stated that the application is currently undergoing trials in her ministry and will soon be introduced to other government departments. “We have developed an application that focuses on secure and uniform communication among government personnel. The aim of Beep Pakistan is to protect our privacy and data,” she told Al Jazeera.
When the then IT Minister, Syed Aminul Haque, first announced the plans for the new app in August 2023, he described it as Pakistan’s alternative to WhatsApp. Now, however, the government is distancing itself from that comparison. “Any comparison with WhatsApp is misguided, as there is no intention to compete with any third-party platform,” Khwaja said.
The government’s announcement comes at a time when Pakistanis have experienced several disruptions in internet usage. In April, the government confirmed that the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) had been banned since February due to “security threats.” In recent months, users have complained to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) about reduced internet speeds, and earlier this month, they reported issues accessing multimedia content on WhatsApp. However, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar denied that there were problems, stating that it was part of a global technological outage earlier this month.
Concerns about WhatsApp’s security features have long been present in the Pakistani government, particularly after reports in December 2019 indicated that at least two dozen senior officials were targeted by Pegasus, spyware developed by the Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO. At that time, the Pakistani government issued a statement instructing officials to avoid sending sensitive documents via WhatsApp and announced plans to develop a domestic communication app to ensure security.
Khwaja indicated that the new app will help ensure “data privacy and protection” in government communications. She mentioned that while it will soon be launched in government departments, “the design of the application is robust enough to offer it to the general public in Pakistan at later times, if desired.” However, she dismissed any future plans to block WhatsApp in Pakistan, describing such fears as “unnecessary exaggeration.” “The focus of Beep Pakistan is to provide secure communication for the government, and comparisons with other commercial applications are irrelevant,” she added.
Babar Majid Bhatti, CEO of the National Information Technology Board (NITB) which is tasked with developing the application, also insisted that Beep Pakistan should not be compared with WhatsApp. “WhatsApp is a commercial product, whereas Beep Pakistan is an official, uniform secure platform. Their purposes and goals are different,” he stated.
Haque, the former minister overseeing the app’s development, pointed to a more strategic rationale for the initiative. “This is a thoroughly Pakistani product. Just as China has WeChat for its users, or as users have WhatsApp in the United States, we wanted something similar for Pakistan,” he explained.
Bhatti from NITB added that the app was developed with the help of Pakistani developers from the private sector, but did not provide further details regarding security features or development costs. “The fundamental pillar of any application, especially Beep Pakistan, is its security, and I can assure you that this application includes all necessary layers, including encryption,” he said.
However, according to Beep Pakistan’s privacy policy, the application will collect various information about the device used to access it, such as location, connection details, and IP addresses, among other data. The privacy policy also states that this information will be stored on local servers operated by the National Telecom Corporation (NTC), the official telecommunications and information technology supplier for the Pakistani government.
“Beep will not share, rent, or sell your personal information to other parties, as the information will only be stored on NTC’s local servers,” states the privacy policy, while also noting that they will be legally obligated to disclose relevant personal information if required by law. The NTC has previously been targeted by hackers, most recently in May 2022, when some government websites were taken offline for several hours. However, the government clarified that the data centers remained unaffected. In August 2016, the U.S.-based media outlet The Intercept reported that the United States had hacked into NTC servers to spy on Pakistan’s political and military leadership.
Digital rights activists remain skeptical about the digital security measures in place for the app. “One of the biggest vulnerabilities of government apps is the exposure of sensitive user data due to unsecured data or app assets,” said Ramsha Jahangir, a digital rights expert. According to Beep’s privacy policy, it will collect sensitive personal information, including links to social media. “How can its security be guaranteed?”
Experts also point to examples from other countries that have attempted to create ambitious, locally manufactured messaging apps. Koo, a platform similar to X, was developed in India in 2020 and received a grant from an Indian government initiative. Although it was a private project, it was supported by high-ranking officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, who switched to the platform at a time when New Delhi was in conflict with Twitter. However, Koo shut down earlier this month due to a lack of funding.
“We have seen local solutions like Koo struggle in the past. Developing an app requires significant technical expertise, time, consistency, and resources,” Jahangir said. Fundamentally, “local ‘solutions’ should prioritize respect for user privacy over merely increasing government control over the private sector.”