ISLAMABAD – Authorities in Pakistan started blocking unregistered and illegal VPN services in the latest bid to tighten internet security.
The development comes amid a crackdown against illegal VPNs to stop citizens from accessing unauthorized access to illegal content. As Pakistan Telecommunication Authority PTA has not yet shared more details about the situation, internet users across the country are reporting disruptions to access popular VPN services.
VPNs Ban in Pakistan
Several VPNs including Tesla Proxy Pro, Super VPN, Okla Speed Test, and NordVPN, come under axe. Users are receiving messages stating that these services are unavailable in the region, with attempts to connect to different servers failing to resolve the issue.
Amid the ban, several VPNs are still operational in Pakistan including Tor VPN, Proton VPN, Cloudflare Warp, Panda VPN, and Hotspot Shield.
According to the PTA, more than 1,400 companies so fart registered VPNs so far, with efforts underway to advance whitelisting process. The authority’s new initiative to block unregistered VPNs is part of broader efforts to enforce internet regulations and ensure compliance with local laws.
Access to social media platform X, former Twitter, was blocked in Pakistan amid allegations of ballot fraud during recent election. As a result, several users are turning to virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the restriction.
Amid this situation, demand for VPN usage saw increase, with reports indicating 131pc increase in usage on the first day of outage, and continued high demand in the following days.
‘VPN Ban in Pakistan’: What it Means for Pakistani social media users?
