ISLAMABAD: The federal government is set to roll out a locally developed secure messaging application, ‘Beep’, for public sector employees, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom was informed on Tuesday.
Officials told the committee that the application, designed as a secure alternative to foreign messaging platforms and inspired by China’s WeChat, is nearing completion and is expected to meet its project deadline of June 30, 2026. The rollout will take place in phases, beginning with federal ministries and their attached departments.
Briefing the committee, National Information Technology Board (NITB) Chief Executive Faisal Iqbal Ratyal said the application had been developed indigenously and certified by relevant government authorities for official use. He said Beep’s primary purpose was to provide a secure communication platform for government employees nationwide.
According to the NITB, the application will offer end-to-end encryption for text messages and video calls. Mr Ratyal said additional security features had been incorporated to safeguard sensitive government communications, adding that the National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT) had formally cleared the app for deployment.
The committee was informed that the initial rollout could begin within the next two months. Beep will also be integrated with the federal e-Office system, allowing officials to exchange messages, share documents and coordinate workflows securely within government institutions. Officials said the platform’s servers would be located within Pakistan, unlike widely used commercial applications whose data infrastructure is based overseas.
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Committee Chairman Syed Aminul Haque directed the NITB to ensure the application’s timely launch and smooth implementation. On operational costs, the NITB chief said Beep would operate on a usage-based fee model, with efforts under way to make the platform financially self-sustaining. However, the secretary of information technology clarified that revenue generation was not the primary objective, and that secure and efficient communication remained the key priority.
Committee Chairman Syed Aminul Haque directed the NITB to ensure the timely rollout of the application.https://t.co/GVe5pBUAdJ
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 17, 2025
In a separate agenda item, the committee expressed strong reservations over the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) claim of 99 per cent user satisfaction with mobile and internet services. Members unanimously rejected the figure, citing widespread complaints of slow internet speeds and weak mobile signals.
Lawmakers questioned the methodology behind the PTA’s Quality of Service report, calling the findings inconsistent with public experience. Several members called for future assessments to be conducted by independent third parties to enhance credibility and transparency.
The committee also reiterated earlier directions regarding the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, stressing that prices should be set realistically and any concessions to telecom operators must be linked to measurable improvements in network infrastructure and service quality.
