Using a VPN is
Pakistan’s top religious body has said that using a VPN service to access blocked content violates Sharia, Islamic law.
The statement from the country’s constitutional body for legal advice on Islamic matters outlines their responsibility to prevent the “spread of evil,” the report said Associated press.
Pakistan’s residents have increasingly turned to VPN (virtual private network) software to access X, which has been blocked since February.
Authorities announced plans to regulate the use of VPNs in August. While the debate is still ongoing about whether commercial VPNs should also be blocked – writes the Pakistani English-language publication Dawn reported that – companies and freelancers have until November 30, 2024 to register their service and avoid disruptions.
The Pakistani VPN Debate
“Using VPNs to access blocked or illegal content is against Islamic and social norms, therefore their use is not acceptable under Islamic law,” reads the official statement released on Friday, November 15, citing Raghib Naeemi, chairman of the Council for Islamic Ideology, is quoted – Voice of America reported this.
The statement also notes that any technology used to access “immoral or illegal activities” is prohibited by Islamic principles, including the Internet. Illegal content includes “immoral and pornographic websites or websites that spread anarchy through disinformation.”
On the same day, the Ministry of the Interior also spoke out against the use of VPN.
In a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), he calls for all “illegal” VPNs to be blocked, claiming that terrorists use these tools “to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan.”
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On Sunday, November 9, 2024, people in Pakistan complained about problems accessing their VPN apps during the day, which seemed like the start of the crackdown on ‘unregistered’ VPNs. Authorities confirmed this was a “brief technical glitch” while reiterating the need to register their service to avoid further disruptions.
The top VPN providers have recorded an increase in usage by citizens in Pakistan this year as people try to maintain access to X and other blocked content online. This is because such security software spoofs a user’s real IP address location to grant access to otherwise geo-restricted content, while encrypting the Internet connection to increase online anonymity.
At times, VPNs have also become a target as authorities try to prevent people from using these services to circumvent government-imposed restrictions.
As Dawn reportedHowever, the use of VPNs is still allowed in Pakistan for legitimate purposes. These include banking, foreign missions, corporations, universities, IT companies, call centers and freelance professionals.
Authorities are now urging companies and freelancers operating in the above-mentioned sectors to complete VPN registration with PTA before the end of the month. Failure to do so may result in further service disruptions in the future.
Although it is not yet clear how the blocking will work in practice, the new legislation aims to curb VPN abuse and security risks. Authorities considered unregistered VPNs a ‘security risk’ for Pakistan as they could be used to access ‘sensitive data’.
But at the same time, internet experts also believe that the increase in censorship is the main cause of the decline of the internet in the country, with VPNs remaining the best tool to continue accessing the free internet.