The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has approved plans to launch the Pak Awaaz Secure Mobile Communication Ecosystem, a new project designed to provide government officials with a secure and independent communication platform.
The project has received in-principle approval from the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
According to ministry officials, the project is estimated to cost 708 million Pakistani rupees and will provide 10,000 secure mobile devices to government officials.
The devices will include a hardware root of trust for enhanced security, will be manufactured in Pakistan and will run on a locally developed, security-focused operating system designed to protect against cyberattacks and unauthorized access.
The National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) will implement the project by establishing a private mobile communication network using the existing cellular infrastructure.
Unlike regular mobile networks, the system will remain separate from the public mobile network. It will use centralized multifactor authentication based on the user, SIM card and device to secure official communications.
The project also includes the development of a dedicated secure communication platform that will support end-to-end encrypted voice calls, secure video calls, encrypted messaging and protected file sharing.
Officials said the ecosystem will also include dedicated application management systems, administrative controls and a Network Operations Center (NOC). The entire infrastructure will be hosted at the NTC Data Center.
In addition to secure communication services, the Pak Awaaz ecosystem will introduce a sovereign software environment with a private government app store, a secure chat application, controlled directory services and the secure deployment of government applications.
Key digital platforms, including the e-Office system, will operate through the new secure mobile ecosystem, helping protect digital workflows and strengthen the cybersecurity of government communications across Pakistan.
