Pakistan’s VPN Usage Surged Over 2380% Amid Internet Blockage

Pakistan has been experiencing another surge in VPN use as internet restrictions tightened over the past few days.

Demand has climbed sharply since November 24th, with Top10VPN projecting a 330% increase over normal levels. Proton VPN saw sign-ups jump by 730% on Monday, then an astounding 2860% on Tuesday.

This spike follows last weekend’s WhatsApp block, implemented ahead of anticipated anti-government protests. Just two days prior, authorities restricted access to Bluesky, a rival app to Elon Musk’s X. Popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and others remain inaccessible in many areas, even with VPNs.

Pakistan’s access to VPNs may be significantly limited by the end of November as a new government policy looms. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has set a November 30th deadline for businesses and freelancers to register their VPN services.

While the debate continues whether to block commercial VPN use entirely, unregistered services face potential disruption. The government has raised concerns about VPN use outside approved purposes, such as education, banking, IT companies, and call centers.

On November 15th, Pakistan’s religious spokesperson sparked controversy by declaring VPN use un-Islamic and calling for a ban. Despite later attributing the statement to a typo, according to The News, the Ministry of Interior echoed the sentiment on the same day.

The Ministry urged a block on all “illegal” VPNs, alleging their use by terrorists for “violent activities and financial transactions.”