Search Here

The Blackberry operation shut down in Pakistan have been delayed until 30^th Dec due to contained talks between the telecom authority and the company to gain access to user's private data. PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) had demanded Blackberry in July to give them the access to the Enterprise services of Blackberry, the service responsible for encrypting instant messages, emails and other such data or shut the company down by 30^th November. Then PTA gave the company an extension of 1-month to that deadline, confirmed by the chairman, Syed Ismail Shah. "The level of access is still under discussion," Shah said. "We can extend the deadline and they can continue to work until then," reports Dawn

According to Pakistan officials, they need the access for the maintenance of its security with police justifying its demand saying that the criminals use encrypted service like Blackberry for secure communication. Analysts say that the electronic surveillance is being augmented by the authorities so that the activists, politicians and journalists can be targeted, as reported by Economic Times.

On Monday, PTA extended the deadline by a month and has been confirmed by both the company's website and the PTA. "The level of access is still under discussion," Shah said. "We can extend the deadline and they can continue to work until then," as reported by Reuters.

Earlier today, BlackBerry Chief Operating Officer Marty Beard confirmed in a statement posted to the smartphone makers' website that the company will not operate in Pakistan after Nov 30. "Pakistan's demand for open access to monitor a significant swath of our customers' communications within its borders left us no choice but to exit the country entirely," Beard had said. According to the COO, the company decided to exit from Pakistan because ""remaining in Pakistan would have meant forfeiting our commitment to protect our users' privacy", reports Dawn.