ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani parliamentary committee on Tuesday discussed plans to roll out a locally developed messaging application for government officials next year, even as lawmakers voiced strong dissatisfaction with the country’s Internet services during a hearing marked by complaints over poor connectivity.
Local media reported that the proposed app for secure official communication came up during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, where members also raised concerns about sluggish mobile Internet speeds and the performance of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Pakistani officials announced last year that local engineers had developed and successfully tested a government messaging platform intended to reduce reliance on foreign applications and strengthen data security. The National Information Technology Board (NITB) said the application — known as Beep — had been successfully undergoing trial runs since 2023.
“The purpose of launching Beep is to provide a secure messaging platform for public sector employees nationwide,” NITB Chief Executive Faisal Iqbal Ratyal told the committee during the hearing, according to Pakistan’s English-language broadsheet Dawn, expressing hope that the project would meet its June 30, 2026 deadline.
