ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (Alliance News): Pakistan is conducting mass surveillance on millions of its citizens through phone-tapping systems and a Chinese-built internet firewall that censors social media, Amnesty International said in a report released Tuesday, calling it one of the most extensive examples of state monitoring outside China.
According to the report, Pakistan’s “Lawful Intercept Management System” (LIMS) enables authorities to tap at least four million mobile phones simultaneously, while a firewall known as WMS 2.0 can inspect and disrupt up to two million active internet sessions at a time.
Together, the systems allow security agencies to monitor calls, messages, and online traffic while blocking access to websites and social media platforms.
Amnesty said the surveillance infrastructure was developed with both Chinese and Western technology.
The firewall is supplied by Beijing-based Geedge Networks, while it also incorporates equipment from US-based Niagara Networks, software from Thales DIS (a French company), and servers from Chinese IT firms.
An earlier version relied on Canada’s Sandvine. The phone-tapping system was built by Germany’s Utimaco and deployed via UAE-based Datafusion, the watchdog added.
“Mass surveillance creates a chilling effect in society, whereby people are deterred from exercising their rights, both online and offline,” Amnesty’s report said.
The findings draw partly from a 2024 Islamabad High Court case filed by Bushra Bibi, wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, after recordings of her private phone calls surfaced online.
While authorities denied operating phone-tapping systems, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority acknowledged ordering operators to install LIMS for use by “designated agencies.”
Reuters reported that Pakistan’s technology, interior, and information ministries, as well as the telecom regulator, did not respond to requests for comment on Amnesty’s findings.
Amnesty said Pakistan is currently blocking around 650,000 web links and restricting access to platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and X.
The report noted that the impact has been most severe in Balochistan, where entire districts have faced years-long internet shutdowns amid allegations of enforced disappearances and killings of activists, accusations the authorities deny.
Human rights experts warned that the dual use of phone surveillance and nationwide internet filtering represents an alarming escalation.
“Having both in Pakistan constitutes a troubling development from a human rights perspective,” said Ben Wagner, Professor of Human Rights and Technology at Austria’s IT:U. “It suggests greater restrictions on freedom of expression and privacy will become more common as such tools become easier to implement.”
Niagara Networks told Reuters it complies with US export rules, does not know the end users of its products, and only sells tapping and aggregation equipment.
Datafusion, which operates monitoring centres, said its technology is provided only to law enforcement and that it does not manufacture LIMS. Other companies named in the report, including Geedge Networks, did not respond to requests for comment.
Amnesty concluded that Pakistan’s growing surveillance network reflects a wider global trend of governments adopting sophisticated monitoring systems, but warned that its scale and secrecy risk undermining democratic freedoms and privacy rights.
