Pakistan has launched its own alternative to instant messaging app WhatsApp. The app called ‘Beep Pakistan’ has reportedly been developed in collaboration between Pakistan’s IT ministry and the National Information Technology Board (NITB). Pakistan’s IT minister Aminul Haque unveiled the ‘Beep Pakistan’ app earlier this week. “We can now proudly say Pakistan has a WhatsApp alternative”, the minister said at the launch event. While acknowledging the digital progress of neighbouring countries, the minister added, “We have been a bit late … but it is better to be late than never.”

Made-in-Pakistan app aims to enhance security
The made-in-Pakistan app aims to mitigate potential cyberattacks, ensuring that sensitive government communication is better protected. The Pakistan IT minister said that the ‘Beep Pakistan’ app stores all user data within servers in Pakistan and under the supervision of the National IT Board, eliminating the risk of audio or video leaks.

The app is currently available exclusively to government officials. The app will see a phased rollout. It will begin with internal government usage within the IT ministry and expansion to other ministries and departments followed by a public rollout across Pakistan. The ministry is aiming to roll out the app for the general public within a year. In that phase, the ‘Beep Pakistan’ app will be made available for nationwide use on the Google Play Store. The minister expressed confidence that the app would gradually become the preferred alternative to WhatsApp across the country.
‘Beep Pakistan’ features
The ‘Beep Pakistan’ chat app features include support for audio and video calls; end-to-end encryption; documents sharing with captions; and instant messaging. The project is said to have started in the year 2020.
Baber Majid Bhatti, the CEO of the National Information Technology Board, said that the app will help optimise communication and efficiency within government departments. “Beep Pakistan is a transformative platform that will revolutionise the way our government operates through seamless collaboration between ministries, offering data-driven decision-making for policymakers, and enhanced services to citizens” on a secured platform, he said.