The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman, Major General (retired) Hafeezur Rehman, confirmed on November 30 that the government has approved extending the deadline for registering Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). However, no new deadline for registration has been announced.

The PTA had earlier introduced an online portal aimed at simplifying the registration process. The Interior Ministry had issued a VPN registration directive, emphasizing the misuse of VPNs for illegal activities. “Off late, an alarming fact has been identified, wherein VPNs are used by terrorists to obscure and conceal their communications. VPNs are also being used to discreetly access pornographic and blasphemous contents,” the ministry stated on November 15.

According to Dawn, the decision to extend the registration deadline was made on the opinion of the Law Ministry that the government lacked the legal grounds to impose such a ban under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. According to the ministry’s interpretation, Section 34 of PECA, which empowers authorities to block unlawful online content, does not extend to tools such as VPNs.

The initial plan to restrict VPN use sparked concerns among software houses, freelancers, and businesses. The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) highlighted that a VPN ban would have catastrophic effects on the IT sector. The Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP), representing ISPs, had called for a balanced and collaborative approach to regulating VPNs.