PTA says no VPNs blocked, deadline for ban not yet finalised
Technology
31,000 VPNs had officially registered with the authority in recent weeks
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said on Monday no Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) had been blocked in the country and neither had a deadline been finalised for such an action, adding that over 31,000 VPNs had officially registered with the authority in recent weeks.
“No VPN has been blocked in the country so far,” PTA Chairman Major General (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman told Arab News on the sidelines of an event marking the launch of the authority’s annual performance report.
“No deadline has been set so far to block VPNs and we are working with the government to develop a solution that minimizes inconvenience to the public but nothing has been finalized yet,” he added, saying over 31,000 VPNs had been registered with the authority so far.
Rehman said the PTA had set up a dedicated help desk for IT companies and freelancers to facilitate VPN registration and other matters. All registration applications were processed within eight hours.
“When Internet shutdowns occur, they can approach us to get whitelisted, ensuring that their connectivity remains unaffected,” Rehman said.
“Once whitelisted, their Internet will continue to function even during government-imposed closures due to security threats or other reasons. This helps ensure that any closure of Internet due to national security measures do not disrupt their business operations as their Internet will keep working.”
Regarding frequent Internet closures, the official said the question should be addressed to the government as the PTA was implementing official orders.
