ISLAMABAD – Authorities in Pakistan are secretly running one of sweeping surveillance operations, tapping into millions of private phone calls and keeping an eye on social media through firewall, Amnesty International warned.
In its bombshell report, Amnesty International said Pakistani spy agencies can monitor up to 40Lac phones at once in one time and block millions of internet sessions in real time. The system, built with cutting-edge Chinese and Western technology, gives authorities unprecedented power to eavesdrop on citizens, censor dissent, and crush political opposition.
At the heart of this digital dragnet is Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS), which allows to tap calls and texts. Working hand in glove with it is WMS 2.0, a Chinese-designed firewall capable of silencing social media platforms with the flick of a switch.
Amnesty lamented mass surveillance, saying it only causes fear in society, deterring people from speaking freely online or offline.
According to Amnesty, nearly 0.65million websites are currently blocked in South Asian nation, with entire districts are living under years-long internet shutdowns.
The watchdog traced technology to firms in China, Germany, France, the US, Canada, and the UAE, raising troubling questions about foreign complicity in Pakistan’s clampdown on free expression.
Experts warn fusion of phone interception and nationwide internet censorship is rare as its signals future where privacy and free speech could vanish at click of a button.
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