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Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said it is working on a plan to regulate the use of virtual private networks (VPN) which has witnessed a significant increase in 2024. Most have been using them to access X which has been blocked in the country read more
 "With Pakistanis using VPNs to access blocked X, country plans to block most")
Representative Image. REUTERS.
Pakistan has been apprehensive about its people still using Elon Musk-owned microblogging site - X (formerly Twitter) - which was banned by the government on February 17 this year. The Shehbaz Sharif-led government has realised that the use of VPNs has shot up remarkably in 2024 enabling people to access X.
Fearing the issue may snowball, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is now bracing to work on a plan to regulate the use of virtual private networks (VPN) in the country.
Pakistan plans to block VPNs to restrict X’s access
PTA Chairman retired Maj General Hafeezur Rehman told at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Thursday that a plan is being worked up to regulate VPNs use by whitelisting some proxy networks and blocking others.
Rehman said once the policy will be implemented, only whitelisted VPNs can be accessed in Pakistan and the others will be blocked.
“Only 30 per cent of people are using VPN in Pakistan,” claimed Rehman as he voiced for blocking VPNs in the country.
Meanwhile, PTA chief Rana Mahmoodul Hasan said that VPNs can be blocked in the country, but it will “lead to the collapse of several IT businesses that operate on VPNs”.
56% of Pakistan’s population has access to internet
In cash-strapped Pakistan, whose economy is in shambles, only 56 per cent of people have access to the internet. The update was shared by Rehman during the meeting.
Proxy networks demand soars in Pakistan after X was blocked
A report by Dawn citied Top10VPN, an independent VPN review website, pointing out that the demand for proxy network spiked by 131 per cent on February 19, two days after X was blocked in Pakistan.
Another VPN provider, Surfshark, said its new user acquisition rates in Pakistan jumped between 300 and 400 per cent immediately after X was banned in the country.
The Pakistan government has been making repeated attempts over the past few years to regulate the use of VPNs by registering them, but none of their plans resulted in any tangible action.
In 2022, the PTA asked public and private sector organisations, foreign missions, and freelancers to register their VPNs if they intended to use them without any disruptions.
In 2010, the PTA had also passed VPN regulations, however, their implementation remained evasive.
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English (US) ·