ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal authorities are all set to launch a unified communication and collaboration tool for government employees to ensure better and safer official communication, said a senior state functionary on Wednesday.
“Beep Pakistan has been developed by the National Information Technology Board (NITB) and will soon be launched,” Faisal Iqbal Ratyal, director general of the project management office at the NITB, told Arab News.
He said the application would have several features, helping users make phone calls, send text messages and arrange video conferences.
“This application will help government employees send documents, messages and photos without having to worry about the security,” he said.
“Beep Pakistan will be initially used by 20,000 high-ranking government officials with decision-making authority,” Ratyal informed, adding that the scope of the application would be extended to the remaining government functionaries in the next phase.
Asked about the rationale behind developing a separate app for the purpose, he said the government wanted to launch a dedicated platform for official communication to minimize the chances of cyber-attacks and reduce its dependence on third party applications.
“Many neighboring countries like Singapore and India have already been using indigenously developed apps for official communication,” he maintained.
“Beep Pakistan will also have end-to-end encryption,” the NITB official said. “There are multiple firewalls and security layers to protect users.”
While he maintained the application would not affect user privacy, digital rights activists suspected it was an attempt to eavesdrop on government officials.
“With so many apps offering end-to-end encryption in market, the government is likely to use this one to monitor employee communication,” Usama Khilji, who heads an organization working for internet safety, told Arab News.
Nighat Dad, another digital rights activist, argued that the government would need to pay attention to several factors to make the app a success.
“It will not only have to convince its employees that the app is not tracking them but also guarantee that it comes with a strong data protection policy,” she said.
Pakistan to introduce cellphone app for government officials to replace WhatsApp
https://arab.news/vuhb8
Pakistan to introduce cellphone app for government officials to replace WhatsApp
- Beep Pakistan is developed by the National Information Technology Board and will help government employees make phone calls, send messages and hold video conferences
- Digital rights activists believe the government plans to monitor communication among its officials by launching the app
Pakistan says on ‘strong path’ toward polio eradication after last vaccination drive of 2025
- Pakistani health volunteers vaccinated over 44.6 million children from Dec. 15-21 campaign
- Pakistan has reported 30 polio cases this year and has not reported a single one since September
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Tuesday that the nation was on a “strong path” toward polio eradication, after authorities conducted the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive of the year a few days earlier.
Pakistani health authorities conducted the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination of 2025 from Dec. 15-21. The NEOC earlier this week said it had vaccinated a total of 44.6 million children under the age of five during the seven-day campaign across the country.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries where transmission of the wild poliovirus has never been interrupted, posing a risk to global eradication efforts. The virus, which can cause irreversible paralysis, has no cure and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination.
“The NEOC reaffirms that Pakistan is on a strong path toward polio eradication,” the authority said in a statement.
It noted that health volunteers vaccinated over 22.8 million children in Punjab, over 1 million in Sindh, over 7.1 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and over 2.5 million children in Balochistan during the campaign.
In Islamabad, over 450,000 children were vaccinated while in Gilgit-Baltistan, over 274,000 children and in Azad Kashmir over 714,000 were given polio drops.
The NEOC said Pakistan’s polio cases declined from 74 in 2024 to 30 in 2025, reflecting measurable progress compared to the previous year.
“No polio cases have been reported since September 2025, highlighting the remarkable progress achieved through consistent and comprehensive immunization efforts across the country,” it said.
Health officials say insecurity remains a major obstacle. Polio workers and their security escorts have repeatedly been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in parts of KP and Balochistan, complicating efforts to reach every child.
A gun attack targeting a polio vaccination team in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur district on Dec. 16 left one police constable and a civilian dead.
Natural disasters, including flooding, have also disrupted vaccination campaigns in recent years.
“The NEOC calls upon all stakeholders, including parents, community leaders and health workers, to continue their active support,” the center said.
