One day after social media users were facing internet connectivity issues through Virtual Private Networks (VPN) in Pakistan, sources within Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have responded to the development.

 

Citing safe internet access to users and security risks, sources told Geo News on Monday that the PTA has started the process of banning unregistered and illegal VPNs in Pakistan on Sunday.

 

PTA reportedly blocked VPNs because it allowed unauthorised access to sensitive data and illegal content for many social media users, sources added.

 

Meanwhile, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has not issued an official statement yet regarding the initiating process of registering the Virtual Private Networks.

 

It should be noted here that a number of social media users complained about accessing X (formerly Twitter) through a VPN yesterday.

 

The use of VPNs has increased in Pakistan since the February general election when the government banned social media platform X. Many users were also forced to use VPNs to access the restricted content in Pakistan during the months-long internet disruption in 2024.

 

The government reportedly used the recently launched firewall test in Pakistan between 4 pm and 10 pm and impacted the netizens for six long hours.

 

Earlier, the PTA has called on businesses, such as IT firms, software companies, freelancers, and banks, to register their IPs to maintain VPN access, ensuring uninterrupted internet services for authorised users.

 

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authorities reportedly began the proxy network registration process in 2010, and until now, approximately 20,500 VPNs have been successfully registered.

 

Pointing out the blockage of proxy networks and the frequent shutdown of the internet nationwide this year, Pakistani citizens expressed rage over the government and seemed concerned about the future of e-commerce in the country.

 

Pakistani social media activists and netizens sadly responded by saying that Pakistan has become the first country to introduce the concept of “internet load shedding in Pakistan.”

 

Farieha Aziz, a Digital rights advocate, stated, “It’s completely arbitrary, disrupting everyday life and work, and no one in the PTA and government has yet given a straight answer — other than partially on VPNs, which they have stated they are in the process of registering.”

 

The incumbent government, in the second quarter of the ongoing year, had reportedly introduced the firewall test in Pakistan, leading to the internet slowing to crawl.

 

When the government was criticised for slow internet, Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja accused the internet user of using the VPN, which, according to her, caused the internet to slow down.

 

It should be mentioned here that a firewall can track, block and significantly limit the visibility of content it deems is propaganda.