Authorities have asked mobile telephone operators to stop BlackBerry (BB) services to foreign missions in the country amid concern about the security of the communications, industry sources said on Monday. Two industry officials confirmed that the regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), had asked them to stop all Blackberry services to foreign missions.
"I can confirm that PTA has asked us to stop all BlackBerry services to foreign embassies and high commissions," a senior official at a mobile company, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. Another industry official at another mobile company also confirmed receiving the instructions. "There are some other issues as well, mostly relating to BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server), which we are trying to resolve in consultation with the PTA," he said.
A PTA spokesman was not available for comment. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has been buffeted by demands for access to its encrypted data from several countries, including India and United Arab Emirates, worried by security and social mores. Pakistani industry and government officials say that the government had never allowed BlackBerry services to foreign missions.
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