Pakistan uses tracking tech to hunt virus

Pakistan’s intelligence services are deploying secretive surveillance technology normally used to locate militants to track coronavirus patients and the people they come into contact with.

In a programme publicly touted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government has turned to the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) for help in tackling the virus, which is still spreading at an accelerating rate across Pakistan.

Details have not been released, but officials said that intelligence services were using geofencing and phone-monitoring systems ordinarily used to hunt high-value targets, including home-grown and foreign militants.

A lack of awareness, stigma and fear have contributed to some people not seeking treatment or even fleeing hospitals, while others who have had contact with virus patients have flouted self-isolation rules.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior security official said agencies were now quite effectively using the technology to track coronavirus cases.

“The government has been successful in tracing even those who tested positive but went into hiding,” the security official said.

Geo-fencing, a discreet tracking system that alerts authorities when someone leaves a specific geographic area, has helped officials monitor neighbourhoods on lockdown.

Authorities are also listening in to the calls of Covid-19 patients to monitor whether their contacts are talking about having symptoms.

Khan recently praised the programme, which has come up against little public debate or scrutiny over its use in the virus fight.

“It was originally used against terrorism, but now it is has come in useful against the coronavirus.”

Nearly 60,000 people in Pakistan have tested positive for the disease and more than 1,200 patients have died. But with testing still limited, officials worry the true numbers are much higher.

Rights groups worry authorities might abuse their sweeping surveillance powers to trace political dissidents.

“The task of tracking and tracing the patients and suspected cases should be dealt with by provincial governments and local communities

let intelligence agencies do their actual job,” leading rights activist and ex-senator Afrasiab Khattak said.

Countries across the world have employed track-and-trace methods to control the virus’s spread, raising privacy concerns.

Many Pakistanis have simply ignored provincial lockdown orders and Khan has allowed businesses to reopen in phases.