Has Pakistan begun the crackdown on "unregistered" VPNs?

In what would appear to be the beginning of the implementation of VPN-restricting legislation in Pakistan, many residents have reported issues accessing their VPN services. On Sunday, November 9, 2024, people in Pakistan lamented issues using the best VPN apps. After the initial silence, authorities later confirmed to local publications that this wave of restrictions was due to a "brief technical glitch" – VPNs returned working as usual by the end of the day – while reiterating the need for VPN providers to register their services in the country to avoid further disruptions.

The Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA) announced plans to regulate the use of VPNs in August. The new legislation would aim to curb VPN misuse and security risks. Authorities deemed unregistered VPNs a "security risk" for Pakistan as they can be used to access "sensitive data."

Data from Proton VPN shows a huge spike in usage of the VPN service after other providers began experiencing issues. (Image credit: Proton)

Proton VPN has since confirmed to TechRadar a spike in usage of over 350% above normal traffic following the reported VPN outages and connectivity issues (see graph above).

Virtual private network (VPN) services have become a crucial resource for day-to-day activities for many Pakistanis in 2024 thanks to their IP-spoofing capabilities which grant them access to otherwise geo-restricted content.

Authorities have enforced a strict grip on the internet throughout the year. Most notably, people in Pakistan haven't been able to access X (formerly known as Twitter) without a VPN since February, with VPN usage being often a target. Experts also believe that such an increase in censorship is the main cause of the decline of the country's internet.

Are VPNs illegal in Pakistan?

While Pakistan is regulating the use of VPNs, these services are not illegal or completely banned.

As Dawn reported, VPN usage is permitted in Pakistan for legitimate purposes across various sectors, such as banking, foreign missions, corporate enterprises, universities, IT companies, call centers, and freelance professionals.

Authorities are urging companies operating in the aforementioned sectors to complete the VPN registration with PTA as soon as possible. Failing to do that could mean further service interruptions in the future. At the time of writing, over 20,000 VPN IP addresses have been already registered in Pakistan since 2020, according to authorities.

(Image credit: Future)

While the VPNs affected by Sunday throttling returned to work as normal by the end of the day, there's a bitter irony in considering that this "technical glitch" occurred just a few days after Pakistan's Prime Minister shared a post on X – a platform that has had disrupted access in the country since February – to congratulate US President-elected Donald Trump.

If you are based in Pakistan, or planning to visit the country soon, I recommend checking out our best free VPN page to download as many of the most secure freebies out there. Having more than a VPN app could be beneficial in these instances as you can hop between services in case one gets blocked.

Tor browser is another valid alternative. Completely free to use, Tor is supposed to be even more secure than VPNs as it encrypts your connection in at least three layers of protection. Beware that this extra encryption might slow down your performance a little.