PTA can but won’t block VPNs, says telecom regulator chief

• No VPN blocked till today, says PTA chairman.
• Says questions on national security be asked to policymakers.
• Govt yet to announce new date for VPN suspension.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman on Monday clarified that the telecommunications  regulator would not block the virtual private networks (VPNs) despite having the capability to do so.

Addressing a launching ceremony of the PTA annual report 2024, the authority chief said: “We had said earlier that we can block VPNs but we won’t do it.”

Earlier, the regularity authority decided against blocking VPNs as the government extended the deadline for registering proxies beyond November 30.  However, a new date has not been announced for the VPN suspension.

Sources privy to the matter, however, said that lack of legal grounds was the reason behind the move.

The PTA chairman confirmed that they did not block any VPN till today. Nothing could be hidden from the people in this era, he added.

Moving on to the internet related issues in the country, the PTA chairman said: “We don’t have answer when we are asked about internet shutdown owing to with national security.”

“Questions related to national security should be asked to policymakers,” he said.

Last month, the Ministry of Interior had announced to begin the process of shutting down all unregistered VPNs by the middle of November, but later announced a two-week “grace period” allowing the unregistered VPNs to comply with mandatory registration requirements.

As the deadline ended night, the PTA chose not to issue an official statement on the VPN matter, but its chairman spoke to certain media outlets and confirmed that the authority would not block VPNs, as the government had decided to grant an extension to the stipulated deadline.

VPNs are commonly used worldwide to bypass restricted content.

In Pakistan, the use of VPNs witnessed a spike after authorities banned social media site X (formerly Twitter) earlier this year over “national security” concerns.

Stakeholders, including the IT industry and freelancers, have been pushing for an extension of the deadline for registration.

‘Streamlined’ VPN registration process

The PTA had earlier said that it had streamlined the VPN registration process for organisations and freelancers.

The telecommunication regulator had said entities such as software houses, call centres, banks, embassies, and freelancers could register their VPNs online through the PTA’s official website.

The PTA had said members of the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) can also avail of this facility.

It had added that the registration involves completing an online form and providing basic details, including a computerised national identity card (CNIC), company registration details and taxpayer status.