Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) plans to block all unregistered Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in Pakistan, ARY has reported.
The matter of VPNs was discussed during a Senate committee meeting on Information Technology (IT) and Telecom, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan.
Chairman PTA Hafeezur Rehman stated, “We’re receiving complaints against social media apps including TikTok (95 percent), Meta (65 percent), and X (formerly Twitter) (22 percent ).
Senator Humayun Mohmand questioned whether using a VPN as an assembly member would go against the rules.
Chairman PTA responded, “We are working to manage internet restrictions like Dubai and China.”
“More than 20,500 individuals have registered their VPNs with PTA, and a campaign is underway to collect more registrations. Unregisted VPNs will be blocked later,” he warned.
PTA has launched a one-window operation to whitelist IP addresses and register VPNs. You can register your VPN on the official website of the PTA Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB).
The internet slowed down in Pakistan in July, and many digital businesses and freelancers faced issues and financial loss.
According to a report, Pakistan’s IT industry lost over $300 million due to internet disruption.
Fiverr, one of the most popular platforms for freelancers, also listed Pakistanis as ‘Unavailable’ for a few days.
