Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retired) Hafeezul Rehman said on Saturday that the government had agreed to give people more time to PTA VPN registration (VPNs), but they did not give a new limit.
Virtual private networks are used by many people worldwide to access restricted content. Due to the blocking of websites like X since February, the use of VPNs has significantly increased in Pakistan.
The PTA announced earlier this month that they would limit VPN use in the future to prevent people from accessing sexual material after a nationwide issue rendered VPNs useless.
The interior ministry asked the PTA to stop “illegal VPNs” across Pakistan on November 15. They said that terrorists use these networks to “facilitate violent activities” and to “access pornographic and blasphemous content.”
The head of the PTA informed the Senate IT committee last week that all unregistered VPNs will cease to function in the country after November 30, the deadline for registration.
The head of the PTA told Dawn.com today that the government had agreed to extend the deadline past November 30. “We won’t block VPNs today,” he stated.
However, he did not provide a new date. He stated, “The interior ministry decides how long to extend VPN registration.”
The Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (Wispap) requested a delay in the PTA VPN registration deadline on Friday in order to “facilitate compliance.”
Wispap said that an extension would give public awareness programs more time to teach users about how important it is to register their VPNs. He acknowledged that the government was working to improve safety and regulate VPN use in Pakistan.
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