Protesters block a road during a strike called by the Balochistan National Party (BNP) in Quetta on September 8, 2025, against last week's bombing at a political rally. The controls have hit hardest in the insurgency-hit Balochistan province, where districts have faced years-long internet blackouts. - AFP
KARACHI: Pakistan is spying on millions of its citizens using a phone-tapping system and a Chinese-built internet firewall that censors social media, in one of the most comprehensive examples of state surveillance outside China, Amnesty International said.
The rights watchdog said in a report released on Tuesday (Sept 9) that Pakistan's growing monitoring network was built using both Chinese and Western technology and powered a sweeping crackdown on dissent and free speech. Already restricted political and media freedoms in Pakistan have tightened in recent years, particularly after the military broke with then-Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022, who was later jailed and thousands of his party activists were detained.
