Pakistan to ban VPNs Politicians in Pakistan have criticized the country’s telecommunications regulator’s plan to ban unregistered VPNs by ...

 Pakistan to ban VPNs

Politicians in Pakistan have criticized the country’s telecommunications regulator’s plan to ban unregistered VPNs by the end of November.

The apps are often used to circumvent government surveillance and surveillance.

And the use of these apps is on the rise in Pakistan.

Critics of the ban accuse the authorities of trying to prevent supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan from criticizing the government or the military on banned websites like X.

Millions of Pakistanis have been unable to access X since February 2023, when the government blocked the site ahead of parliamentary elections, and the site can only be accessed through NPN

The government said all VPN users must register by November 30, and currently only private and commercial users are allowed.

Pakistan's Supreme Council of Religious Scholars has declared the use of VPNs as un-Islamic - officials said on Monday.

The head of the Islamic Council of Scholars, Raghib Naeemi, the body that advises the government on religious matters, said Sharia law gives the government the right to prohibit any activity that leads to the spread of blasphemy or evil.

He added that any organization that uses it to spread content that causes scandal or slander or undermines national values ​​must be immediately shut down.