Syed Amin Ul Haque, Federal Minister for Information Technology, unveiled ‘Beep Pakistan’ on Monday, the country’s counterpart to the famous messaging programme WhatsApp.
“This day marks an important milestone for Pakistan’s IT industry, as we are launching Beep Pakistan, the country’s first communication app, on a 30-day trial run,” Haque stated at the launch ceremony.
“The app will be used for internal communication between the Ministry of IT and Communication and the NITB (National Information Technology Board) in the first phase.”
“The app will be made available to all government departments in the second phase.” The software will be made available to the general public in Pakistan in the third phase.”
According to the minister, rival WhatsApp apps have been established in adjacent countries such as India and Bangladesh.
“We’ve been a little late in this regard, but it’s better to be late than never,” he explained.
The minister described the app’s features, saying that it may be used for data sharing, audio calling, video calling, and conference calling.
“The biggest advantage of this app is that it is 100% safe and secure, as its server and source code will be in Pakistan,” he explained.
Haque praised the contribution of the NITB, saying that “we can now proudly say Pakistan has a WhatsApp alternative.”
In the last 3.5 years, the ministry has inaugurated 83 new projects across Pakistan, totaling Rs77 billion. “We have targeted second-and third-tier cities in order to improve connectivity in these areas,” he explained.
According to Haque, the Ministry of IT has taught digital skills to nearly 3.3 million children. Three other National Incubation Centres (NIC) were also formed during our time, he noted.
