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Pakistan Telecommunications Authority Chairman Major General (retired) Hafeezul Rehman said that the government had accorded approval to prolong the deadline for registration of virtual private networks, but no fresh deadline was announced on Saturday.
VPNs are widely used around the world to access content that may be inaccessible or blocked for internet users in their home country. The use of VPNs has surged in Pakistan as people are using them to access X, which has been banned since February, as well as a host of other websites.
The PTA had said earlier this month that VPN usage would now be restricted in the country to curb access to pornographic content, following a disruption that rendered VPNs dysfunctional in the country.
On 15 November, the interior ministry asked the PTA to block “illegal VPNs” across Pakistan, following their use by terrorists to “facilitate violent activities” and to “access pornographic and blasphemous content.”.
Hence, the PTA chairman briefed the Senate standing committee on IT last week that all non-registered VPNs would cease functioning in the country after the deadline set for their registration ends on November 30.
Speaking to media today, the PTA chief said the government had cleared the deadline extension beyond November 30. “VPNs will not be blocked today,” he said.
However, he did not provide a new deadline either by saying, “How long VPN registration is extended is a matter for the interior ministry.”
