- The Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan (PTA) has granted the first licenses to three companies to provide VPN services
- The new frame occurs when Pakistanis use more and more vpn to avoid the prohibition of X and other Internet restrictions
- The authority now urges all VPN suppliers to obtain a license to avoid possible interruptions in the service
The Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan continues its search to regulate the use of VPN without a license throughout the country despite the setbacks.
On April 18, 2025, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) granted the necessary license to three companies to provide their services in the country. The authority now urges all VPN suppliers operating in Pakistan to obtain a license to avoid possible interruptions in the service.
All this occurs as more and more Pakistani have been using some of the best VPN services to access X, which has been blocked since February 2024, and other restricted social networks platforms.
The end of the VPN without a license in Pakistan?
“The Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan (PTA) has begun the Virtual Private Network Service Providers (VPN) under the class license for the provision of data services in Pakistan. As part of this process, PTA has already granted class licenses to provide VPN services to three companies,” the PTA wrote in an official announcement.
The plan for a new License category for VPN suppliers was presented for the first time in December last year in an attempt to regulate the use of Pakistan VPN. Companies must request a permit to operate within the country and avoid possible blocks.
As the Pakistani English -speaking newspaper The Dawn pointed out at that time, the PTA plan expects local companies to provide VPN services or representation to citizens, instead of foreign companies, which are more difficult to control.
This may mean that the anonymity of Pakistani VPN users could be compromised when using a licensed supplier, since authorities can monitor VPN traffic.
As mentioned above, the authority now urges all VPN suppliers operating in the country to request the necessary license.
“The timely license will help prevent possible service interruptions and guarantee uninterrupted access for its customers,” the PTA wrote.
VPN services are still a necessary tool at the time of writing to continue accessing all the main social networks platforms in Pakistan, including X, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and even Bluesky.
Given last year’s failures to successfully regulate VPN in Pakistan, the authorities were forced to withdraw the prohibition of unregistered services due to the lack of legal motives to prohibit VPNs: it is difficult to predict what is at stake for VPN users in the country.
Speaking with Techradar in December, Proton VPN confirmed that if the PTA VPN framework finally applies to all suppliers, the company’s response would be to replace its physical servers with its intelligent routing technology, as the company did in India in 2022.
Techradar has approached some of the main suppliers to comment on the matter, but we are still waiting for an answer at the time of writing.
