Amnesty International has accused Pakistan of building one of the world’s most extensive surveillance networks outside China, warning of deepening restrictions on free speech and dissent.
In a report released Tuesday, the rights watchdog said Pakistan’s intelligence agencies can tap at least four million mobile phones at a time using a Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS).
Alongside, a Chinese-built firewall—WMS 2.0—monitors Internet traffic and blocks millions of online sessions simultaneously.
“These tools create a chilling effect in society, deterring people from exercising their rights both online and offline,” Amnesty said.
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The report draws partly on a 2024 Islamabad High Court case after leaked private calls of Bushra Bibi, wife of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s defense ministries and spy agencies denied any phone tapping capacity, but the telecom regulator admitted it had ordered operators to install LIMS for “designated agencies.”
Pakistan is also blocking about 650,000 web links, including restrictions on YouTube, Facebook and X. The hardest-hit region is Balochistan, where residents have faced years-long Internet blackouts amid ongoing insurgency.
Amnesty said foreign suppliers, including companies in China, Germany, the US, France, and the UAE, provide the backbone of these systems.
Experts warn the combination of mass phone monitoring and Internet filtering constitutes a troubling precedent for human rights in South Asia.
