Osama Ahmad
According to a recent report by Amnesty International, titled “Shadow of Control: Censorship and Mass Surveillance in Pakistan,” Pakistani authorities are monitoring more than 4 million citizens using advanced tools purchased from foreign private companies, such as China’s Geedge Network.
At the core of Pakistan’s surveillance operation are two powerful systems: the Web Monitoring System (WMS 2.0), which acts as a national firewall that can block internet access, virtual private networks (VPNs), and specific websites, and the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS), a mass surveillance platform that allows authorities to eavesdrop on phone calls, text messages, internet activities, and even geolocation data through domestic telecommunications providers.
The earlier version of the WMS or WMS 1.0. in Pakistan was enabled by a Canadian company. A newer version, also known as the National Firewall, was put into place in 2023 using technology from Geedge Network.
LIMS is supported by technology primarily supplied by a German company, Utimaco, and an Emirati company, Datafusion. Utimaco’s LIMS enables authorities to analyze subscriber data from telecommunications companies, while the processed information is accessible through Datafusion’s Monitoring Center Next Generation (McNG).
The methods may have changed, but Pakistan actually began surveilling its citizens decades ago. In the 1990s, such activities resulted in the rise and fall of governments, and Pakistan’s surveillance has continued to grow over time.
Nighat Dad, the founder and executive director of Digital Rights Foundation, told The Diplomat, “Available research and reports suggest that Pakistan has developed significant surveillance capabilities over the past decade.”
In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that state surveillance was illegal, holding it to be a breach of Article 14 of the Constitution, which secures the right to privacy. The ruling came in a case concerning the phone tapping of judges, senior officials, and politicians, allegedly carried out on the instructions of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The Court emphasized that privacy is a fundamental constitutional guarantee, extending far beyond the private sphere of the home.
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