Pakistan Using Chinese Firewall, Phone Tapping System To Spy On Millions, Says Amnesty
Amnesty International warns that Pakistan’s use of Chinese-built surveillance systems and strict social media controls is eroding privacy and curbing digital freedoms. Image courtesy: AI generated picture via DALL-E
Pakistan is conducting mass surveillance of its citizens by tapping millions of phones and censoring social media through a Chinese-built firewall, according to a new report released by Amnesty International.
The rights group revealed that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies can monitor at least 4 million mobile phones simultaneously using a system called the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS).
All four major mobile operators have been ordered to connect to LIMS, Amnesty technologist Jurre van Berge said, suggesting the real scale of surveillance could be even higher.
How is Pakistan using the Chinese firewall to monitor?
At the same time, internet activity across Pakistan is being filtered through a powerful Chinese-built firewall known as Web Monitoring System 2.0 (WMS 2.0). The firewall can block or throttle access to websites and social media platforms, Amnesty said.
The watchdog also documented that Pakistan is actively blocking more than 650,000 web links, including major platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
“Mass surveillance creates a chilling effect in society, whereby people are deterred from exercising their rights, both online and offline,” Amnesty warned in its latest report.
Who are the Chinese and Western firms supplying surveillance equipment?
While Pakistan’s defence ministries denied having the capacity to intercept calls, the country’s telecom regulator admitted in court that mobile operators had been ordered to install LIMS “for designated agencies.”
The surveillance systems rely on a mix of Chinese and Western technology. Amnesty traced the firewall to Geedge Networks, a Chinese company with ties to Beijing’s state-owned enterprises.
It reportedly operates alongside equipment from US-based Niagara Networks, software from France’s Thales DIS, servers from a Chinese state IT firm, and, in earlier versions, filtering tools from Canada’s Sandvine.
Why did Amnesty rely on court documents for its report?
The findings come amid shrinking media and political freedoms in Pakistan, particularly after the military’s rift with former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022. Khan was later jailed, and thousands of his party activists were detained.
Amnesty said its report was partly based on a 2024 Islamabad High Court case filed by Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife, after her private calls were leaked online.
Human rights experts warned that Pakistan’s dual use of phone tapping and internet censorship marks a serious escalation in state control over its citizens’ freedoms.
