Demand for VPNs is rising in Pakistan as internet access remains limited
People in Pakistan have once again turned to the best VPN apps in droves in recent days, as the country’s internet becomes increasingly limited.
According to data from Top10VPNDemand for VPNs has soared since Sunday, November 24, and is now expected to reach a 330% increase above base levels. On Monday, Proton VPN also recorded a spike in VPN logins from the country of 730% above normal levels.
The increase comes as Pakistan restricted access to WhatsApp this weekend, ahead of planned anti-government protests. Just two days earlier, authorities blocked Bluesky as it gained traction worldwide. X, Facebook and Instagram are other popular platforms that cannot be accessed without a VPN at the time of writing.
While VPN (Virtual Private Network) services remain crucial tools for both residents and visitors who need to surf the free internet, it is only a matter of days before people in Pakistan could lose VPN access as authorities are on the verge implement a new VPN policy. end of November.
Pakistan VPN new rules
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is urging all companies and freelancers to register their VPN services before the November 30 deadline to avoid disruptions. The the debate is still ongoinghowever, on whether commercial VPN use should also be blocked.
Certainly, the use of VPNs outside of legitimate purposes, such as education, banking, IT companies and call centers, has drawn some criticism.
For example, on November 15, Pakistan’s religious leader argued that using a VPN is against Islamic law and called for a ban. Despite blaming a typographical error in the statement a few days later – The News reported – the Ministry of Interior also called on the same day to block all ‘illegal’ VPNs, claiming that terrorists use these tools ‘to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan’.
Residents also complained about problems using their VPN apps all day on November 9, which appeared to mark the start of the crackdown on ‘unregistered’ VPNs. Authorities would later confirm that the incidents were a “brief technical issue.”
However, the recent VPN restriction did not affect all providers. As the chart above shows, Proton VPN saw an increase in usage of up to 350% throughout the day.
Experts cannot yet determine what real impact Pakistan’s new VPN rules will have on users.
“It will probably be a bit of a lottery, at least at first,” Simon Migliano, head of research at Top10VPN, told TechRadar. “As we have seen in countries with much more mature internet censorship regimes, such as China and Iran, it is virtually impossible to block all VPNs all the time.”
Migliano then expects that the authorities will mainly focus on larger brands. Potential blocks can also change from day to day, he explains, as providers set up new servers on new IP ranges.
“Rotating through multiple VPNs will likely be the most effective strategy going forward,” Migliano said. To prepare, I recommend checking out our best free VPN page to get the safest free offers without paying for them.
Please note that the legality of using a VPN to bypass restrictions in Pakistan is not yet clear. Commenting on this point, Migliano said: “Using an unregistered VPN in Pakistan after the deadline will be a risky proposition, depending on how strictly the authorities enforce the new rules.”
