Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (R) Hafeezur Rehman, announced on Monday that the regulator plans to block all illegal virtual private networks (VPNs) in Pakistan. This statement was made during a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom in Islamabad.
The chairman informed the committee that the PTA has already registered 20,500 VPNs and is actively working to increase this number. Despite concerns about unauthorized VPN usage, particularly for accessing blocked platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Rehman stated that immediate action against illegal VPNs will not be taken.
Instead, the PTA will adopt a more aggressive approach once the registration process is more comprehensive.
During the briefing, it was revealed that the PTA receives approximately 150 complaints daily against social media platforms. Of these, 98 percent are related to TikTok, while Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) account for 48 percent, and YouTube for 52 percent.
Regarding the future of X in Pakistan, Interior Ministry officials noted that its case is currently being heard in the Islamabad, Sindh, and Lahore High Courts. Questions were raised during the Senate meeting about the legality of using VPNs to access X. Interior Ministry officials confirmed that using VPNs for this purpose is illegal. A senator questioned why the Prime Minister was using a VPN to post his thoughts, highlighting the inconsistency in enforcement.
Another senator inquired why Pakistan cannot fully block X if it is already restricted. PTA officials and federal government representatives were unable to provide a convincing explanation for this issue.
