In a significant step toward digital sovereignty, the Government has officially launched its first homegrown social media application, Beep Communication Platform (Pal), on a pilot basis across three federal ministries.
The government introduced the initiative, which aims to provide a secure and locally managed communication platform for public sector officials. The app has initially been rolled out in selected ministries as part of a testing phase before a wider nationwide implementation.
In inner sources revealed that the platform will be implemented in all ministries in a phased manner, while in the initial phase, it will be used only by federal officers.
In first phase its start in three ministries
In the first phase, its use has been started in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Cabinet Division and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
The federal government approved the use of Beep Pakistan after completing its security review.
A six-member committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Director General of the National Emergency Computer Response Team for the security audit.
The committee included Secretary NTISB, a designated officer of DG Technical NTISB, officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and National Emergency Operations Centre (NECOP). Nasran was among them.
NA’s Standing Committee on IT, Telecom, informed
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT and Telecom had informed last year in December that the government plans to launch a secure messaging app called ‘BEEP’ for government officials, modelled after China’s social media platform WeChat.
The committee met under the chairmanship of MNA Syed Aminul Haque, during which National Information Technology Board (NITB) CEO Faisal Iqbal Ratyal briefed the members. He stated that the ‘BEEP’ app is ready and is designed to provide a secure and reliable communication platform for government employees.
He added that the app will feature end-to-end encryption, including video communication, making it suitable for discussing sensitive government matters.
Regarding operational costs, he explained that the app will initially run on a usage-based fee model, with efforts underway to make it financially self-sufficient in the future.
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