Pakistan to Launch New Messaging App ‘Beep Pakistan’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced plans to launch a new messaging application, “Beep Pakistan,” which will initially be used for communication by government employees and later be made available to the general public.

The announcement comes as Pakistani users face issues with WhatsApp, especially when sending and receiving media files. Digital rights advocates suspect the country’s testing and deployment of an internet firewall, aimed at stifling dissent and cracking down on free speech, may be causing these disruptions.

“Beep Pakistan,” described as a local alternative to WhatsApp, is currently undergoing trial runs within the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, which plans to launch it “soon” among other government departments.

“The design of the application is robust enough to offer it to the general citizens of Pakistan at later stages, if desired,” said Shaza Fatima Khwaja, state minister for IT and telecommunication.

Initially announced by former IT minister Syed Aminul Haque as Pakistan’s alternative to WhatsApp, 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, adding that the app aims to protect privacy and data.

Haque, currently heading the National Assembly’s standing committee on IT, stated that the government plans to roll out the application to all its employees within the next 45 days, with potential public launch following that. Unlike WhatsApp, Haque said, “Beep’s data centre will be in Pakistan, ensuring 100% safety and security. Just as China has WeChat and America has WhatsApp, Pakistan now has its own app.”

Pakistani authorities have long been concerned about WhatsApp’s security features, especially after reports in December 2019 that at least two dozen senior officials were targeted by Pegasus, a spyware developed by an Israeli cybersecurity firm. At that time, the Pakistan government instructed all officials to avoid sharing sensitive and confidential documents over WhatsApp.

When asked if WhatsApp would be banned in the country following Beep Pakistan’s public launch, Khwaja denied any plans to block WhatsApp. Haque added he was not in favor of a ban. “But since Beep Pakistan is safe and secure, we wish it to be used in Pakistan and those who want to use WhatsApp can continue to use it,” he said.