Many internet users in Pakistan on Sunday said they faced “access being blocked” to Virtual Private Networks or VPNs alongside poor connectivity, fueling worries about potential state-imposed restrictions.
Used primarily to circumvent access barriers built into their home countries, VPNs have become especially crucial for Pakistanis looking to circumvent banned platforms like X, formerly Twitter. Still, recent reports indicate that access to such services may not be as imminent for Pakistanis as some users reported encountering throttling or even full blocks on their connections.
At the beginning of this year, the country’s Pakistan Telecommunication Authority had already limited VPN applications primarily for the aim of blocking access to one banned social media website called X. Earlier this month, the PTA reasserted its position by stating that regulators are “reviewing” how people have used VPNs to bypass government blocks.
The government claimed X was being used by “separatists and terrorists” to challenge national security, stating the decision to block the platform countered this threat. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar clarified that the decision did not come in order to curb freedom of speech but as a protective measure for the country from those nefarious activities.
The PTA however had assured the public in September that VPNs are not blocked; on Sunday, however, it was reported by multiple users in Pakistan that services from VPN Unlimited and Tunnelbear were experiencing terrible connectivity. Outage tracking website Downdetector confirmed this report because the website showed a spate of complaints from users who cannot connect to the VPN servers.
By 6:15 PM, Downdetector had peaked at 10 complaints involving VPN Unlimited. Problems were streamed all through the evening. Another super-popular VPN service Tunnelbear was also reporting issues continuously. Complaints were being submitted even as late as 7:29 PM.
Lists of VPN services that were active in Pakistan were shared by some users, while several staff members at Dawn.com also faced trouble connecting to VPN services. Even after the PTA had clarified yesterday, the issues being faced today have further questioned which extent VPN access is being throttled or restricted.
The PTA has been called for comments on the recent outages but so far, no official statement has been released.