- Pakistan Has Reportedly Started Blocking Unregistered VPNs
- Proton said its apps have been restricted since December 22.
- Pakistan resumed VPN licensing in November
Pakistan has long planned to regulate VPNs and now authorities have reportedly started blocking some major VPN services. Proton, the company behind Proton VPN, confirmed on Sunday that its apps have been restricted in the country since December 22.
“Pakistan has followed countries like Russia, China and Iran in preventing its citizens from using VPNs for uncensored access to X and other social networks,” said David Peterson, CEO of Proton VPN.
The move follows the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). resuming VPN licensing in November, when it announced a new framework to provide “safe and legal” VPN services to the public.
Virtual private network (VPN) applications have become a crucial tool for the people of Pakistan in recent years. This is largely because social media apps (including X, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are often blocked in the country.
However, VPNs don’t just provide a way to bypass content restrictions; They are also used to improve user privacy and security online. Consequently, recent restrictions on some of the best VPNs available could have major repercussions for digital rights in the country.
Which VPN apps have been affected?
It’s unclear exactly how many VPN providers have been affected so far.
When we reached out to NordVPN for comment, the company stated that it had not noticed any disruption to its services, while a Surfshark spokesperson noted that its apps had experienced a “slight drop” but were otherwise unaffected.
Some Reddit users reported slow speeds and connection drops in the country while using ExpressVPN. We have contacted the company to confirm this. Other Reddit users lamented the restrictions on other Proton apps, including Proton Mail and Proton Pass.
OONI Explorer data indicates that access to the Proton VPN website may also be affected. The number of abnormal test results, defined as results that “show signs of possible network interference,” has increased in the past week.
Pakistan has been trying to crack down on VPN use for years.
After briefly cutting off access to some VPN apps in February 2024, the PTA shared plans to regulate VPN use as a way to curb misuse in August of that year. It was at this point that “unregistered VPNs” officially became a target.
An initial plan to ban all unregistered VPNs was halted just a day before the deadline, following an intervention by Pakistan’s Justice Ministry citing a lack of legal basis. The PTA subsequently announced a new strategy focused on licensing VPN service providers operating within the country.
While the crackdown appeared to lose momentum throughout 2025, the initiative remained on the agenda. On November 13, 2025, the PTA announced that it had awarded the first set of VPN licenses to five local companies.
While much of the attention has been focused on Proton, it seems likely that other VPN providers will also be affected in this latest wave of outages.
How to avoid blocks
Despite renewed scrutiny of VPN services in the country, effective solutions still exist.
Peterson suggests that anyone having difficulty using Proton VPN should update to the latest version and switch to their Stealth protocol. This protocol is designed to obfuscate VPN traffic, making it harder to detect.
Additionally, NordVPN and Surfshark recommend using their respective NordWhisper or NoBorders protocols to bypass restrictions.
VPNs are being blocked in Pakistan 🇵🇰. For our community in Pakistan, find practical steps and context below. https://t.co/Ql0aX8EXDaJanuary 4, 2026
Both Proton and Surfshark suggest that users try connecting to several different servers if their initial attempt fails, as not all servers are currently restricted.
“Newer servers (generally with higher numbers) and those in smaller countries have the best chances of success,” Proton said.
Finally, Proton suggests switching between mobile data (Wi-Fi) and landline connections, as different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often have different success rates when it comes to blocking VPN traffic.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy when you are abroad. We do not support or condone using a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Future Publishing does not endorse or approve the consumption of paid pirated content.
