Pakistan using phone tapping, firewall systems to spy on citizens: Amnesty

Calling it one of the 'most comprehensive examples of state surveillance outside China', Amnesty said that Pakistan's growing surveillance network was built with the help of Chinese and Western tech

Amnesty International on Tuesday said that Pakistan is using a phone-tapping system and a Chinese-built internet firewall that censors social media to spy on millions of its citizens, Reuters reported.

 

Terming it as one of the "most comprehensive examples of state surveillance outside China", the watchdog said that Pakistan's expanding surveillance network was built with the help of Chinese and Western technology and is driving a crackdown on free speech and dissent.

 

The rights watchdog report comes at a time when the country is already witnessing restricted political and media freedoms, especially after the military broke with former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022, who was later jailed. It also said the findings were based on a 2024 case filed by Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan's wife, in the Islamabad High Court, after her private calls were leaked online.

 

 

Earlier in July, Reuters reported that Pakistan sought a ban on more than two dozen YouTube channels, which included journalists and government critics.

 

Pakistan continues surveillance on citizens

 

According to Amnesty International, Pakistan's spy agencies are capable of monitoring four million mobile phones at a go because of their Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS), and the firewall known as WMS 2.0, which inspects internet traffic, can block two million active sessions at a time. Further, the two surveillance systems work in tandem; while one lets the intel agencies tap phone calls and texts, the other slows down or blocks websites and social media platforms across the country.

 

Amnesty technologist Jurre van Berge told Reuters that the number of mobile phones under surveillance could be much higher, as all the major mobile operators have been told to connect to LIMS.

 

The report further said, "Mass surveillance creates a chilling effect in society, whereby people are deterred from exercising their rights, both online and offline."

 

In January this year, the Pakistani government introduced a new amendment in the Electronic Crimes Act and created a new social media regulatory authority with its own investigative agency and tribunals.

 

Pakistan is currently blocking over 650,000 web links and curbing platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X. Balochistan is the hardest hit because of these controls, where the districts have faced internet blackouts for years.

 

Pakistan denies citizens' surveillance

 

While Pakistan's intelligence agencies and defence ministries have denied running these surveillances, the telecom regulator, under questioning, accepted that it had already asked phone companies to install LIMS for use by "designated agencies".

 

Pakistan's press freedom ranking declines in 2024

 

It is worth noting that Pakistan ranked at 152 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index in 2024. The country witnessed a decline of two places from 150 in 2023.

 

In its country profile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said, "The number of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances of journalists increased" in Pakistan. It further said, "Ever since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has oscillated between civil society’s quest for greater press freedom and the political and military elite’s constant reassertion of extensive control over the media."

 

The RSF report also highlighted that Pakistan was one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.