Associated Press
Pakistani engineers have developed and successfully tested a government messaging app for secure communication among officials, authorities said Tuesday, even as Islamabad restricts social media use and regularly shuts down internet and mobile phone networks to prevent dissent. Should the government approve it, the messaging platform could eventually also be available to millions of citizens, said Baber Majid, chief executive officer at the country’s National Information Technology Board. Enter “beep,” a chat application that Pakistani authorities say is exclusively homegrown.