The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has decided against banning Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), citing the lack of legal grounds.
The Interior Ministry has also been instructed to withdraw its request to block unregistered VPNs, a move that was reportedly aimed at combating misuse for unlawful activities.
The PTA had earlier mandated businesses, freelancers, and foreign missions to register their VPNs by November 30. Failing to do so would result in their connections being blocked.
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However, an opinion from the Law Ministry clarified that existing laws, particularly the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, do not support a blanket ban on VPNs. Instead, PECA’s Section 34 grants the government authority to remove or block specific unlawful online content, not tools like VPNs themselves.
The PTA’s regulations had primarily targeted commercial users, leaving individual VPN users unaffected. According to a PTA official, around 27,000 VPNs had been registered, with an additional 7,000 registrations submitted after the deadline announcement.
The plan to impose restrictions had drawn criticism from the business community, particularly software houses and freelancers, who warned that it could significantly impact their operations.
Pakistan Software Houses Association Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed pointed out that the sheer volume of VPN users—estimated at 500,000 IP addresses—made such measures impractical.
This decision is seen as a relief for businesses and freelancers who rely on VPNs for secure communication and professional activities.
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