Govt eyes ‘secure comms’ to prevent critical leaks

Pakistan's government is moving to establish a sovereign, secure, and 'below-internet' mobile communication network designed for at least 10,000 government users. This initiative aims to address critical information leakages by creating an isolated communication system. The decision was made during a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which also greenlit a total of 24 development projects valued at Rs465.76 billion.

Among the approved projects is the launch of the Pakistan Communication Satellite–2 (PakSat-2), with an estimated cost of Rs37.192 billion. This new satellite will succeed PakSat-IR, which is nearing the end of its 15-year operational life. Sources indicate that the Planning Commission sought further assurances on the technical robustness of the 'PAKAWAZ Secure Mobile Communication Ecosystem' project, which aims to provide a secure mobile application with various communication features and supporting infrastructure.

The National Telecommunication Company (NTC), responsible for the PAKAWZ project, has been instructed to conduct further stakeholder consultations. The goal is to finalize an unbreakable security system that guarantees confidentiality, integrity, availability, and national data sovereignty. The network is intended to provide an isolated "private 4G LTE Core Network," air-gapped from the public internet, addressing security shortcomings identified after recent conflicts and global security events.

In addition to the secure communication network and satellite launch, the CDWP meeting, chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, approved 15 other development projects totaling Rs34.7 billion. Furthermore, nine additional projects, valued at Rs431.022 billion, were recommended for approval by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec). These include an IT sector project to establish an 'Emerging Technologies Data Centre' worth Rs7.93 billion, aimed at providing secure, sovereign, and government-owned AI and high-performance computing infrastructure for Pakistan.