Amnesty Accuses Pakistan of Mass Surveillance Through Phone-Tapping and Chinese Firewall
Amnesty International has accused Pakistan of running one of the most extensive surveillance systems outside China, using both phone-tapping and a Chinese-built internet firewall to monitor millions of citizens. In a report released on Tuesday, the rights group said the system enables authorities to suppress dissent and restrict free expression.
According to Amnesty, Pakistan’s Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS) allows intelligence agencies to monitor at least four million mobile phones at any time. Alongside this, a firewall known as WMS 2.0 can block or slow two million internet sessions simultaneously, affecting access to social media and websites nationwide.
Restrictions Tighten as Surveillance Expands
Political and media freedoms in Pakistan have narrowed in recent years, particularly since the military ended ties with former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022. His subsequent imprisonment and the detention of thousands of party supporters have intensified concerns over state control.
Amnesty said surveillance is creating a “chilling effect” across society, discouraging citizens from exercising their rights online and offline. The report cited a 2024 case filed in the Islamabad High Court by Bushra Bibi, wife of Imran Khan, after her private phone calls were leaked. While intelligence agencies denied operating such systems, Pakistan’s telecom regulator admitted ordering operators to connect to LIMS for “designated agencies.”
Authorities, including Pakistan’s technology, interior, and information ministries, did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the report.
Foreign Technology Firms Linked to Pakistan’s Firewall
The watchdog said Pakistan currently blocks around 650,000 websites and restricts access to major platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and X. The measures have been most severe in Balochistan, where frequent internet blackouts accompany allegations of disappearances and violence against activists, charges the military denies.
Amnesty’s findings connect Pakistan’s firewall to Chinese firm Geedge Networks, which supplied the system. It also identified components from several international companies, including servers from a Chinese state IT firm, equipment from US-based Niagara Networks, and software from Thales DIS of France. Germany’s Utimaco is named as the provider of the phone-tapping system, with deployment through UAE-based Datafusion.
While some firms stressed compliance with export rules and safeguards, others declined to comment on the allegations.
Growing Concerns Over Human Rights
Experts warn that Pakistan’s combination of large-scale phone monitoring and internet filtering poses serious threats to privacy and freedom of expression. “Having both in place constitutes a troubling development from a human rights perspective,” said Professor Ben Wagner of IT:U in Austria. He cautioned that such tools could normalise greater restrictions as they become easier to deploy.
Amnesty concluded that Pakistan’s surveillance systems, supported by foreign suppliers, represent a growing risk for activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens alike.
with inputs from Reuters
