The government of Pakistan has unveiled a fresh messaging app named Beep Pakistan, designed to serve as a local substitute for WhatsApp.
The inauguration of this app took place on Monday, officiated by Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) Syed Amin Ul Haque. Haque highlighted that in its initial stage, Beep Pakistan will facilitate internal communication between the IT ministry and the National Information Technology Board (NITB).
In the subsequent phase, the app will be extended for use by all government departments. Eventually, in the third phase, the application will be accessible to the general public across the nation.
Minister Haque emphasized that Beep Pakistan boasts an array of features, encompassing data sharing, audio and video calling, as well as conference calling capabilities. What sets it apart, he stressed, is its uncompromised security, assured by hosting the app’s server and source code within Pakistan.
The introduction of Beep Pakistan is being heralded as a significant milestone in the advancement of Pakistan’s IT industry, according to Haque. Moreover, he revealed that the Ministry of IT has successfully undertaken 83 new projects over the past 3.5 years, with a total expenditure of Rs77 billion.
Notably, during his tenure, the Ministry has been instrumental in imparting digital skills to more than 3.3 million youngsters and has established three additional National Incubation Centers (NIC) across the country.
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Beep Pakistan’s emergence as an indigenous messaging platform is seen as a step toward promoting digital sovereignty and self-reliance in the realm of technology. As the app gears up for its phased rollout to government bodies and eventually the general populace, it remains to be seen how well it can secure its position in a market dominated by well-established global counterparts.
