Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (R) Hafeez Rahman, stated on Thursday that the authority is considering a complete ban on virtual private networks (VPNs) across the country. However, he cautioned that such a move could negatively impact businesses.

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While addressing the Senate Standing Committee on IT & Telecom, the chairman revealed that PTA has already started the process of whitelisting VPNs to block unauthorized services in Pakistan. He noted that since these measures began, the usage of X in the country has decreased by 70 percent, with only 30 percent of users now accessing the app via VPNs.

Rahman also pointed out that X has responded to just 7 percent of the PTA’s complaints over the past three months. He mentioned that the decision to unblock X is up to the federal government.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, speaking to the committee, highlighted that posts offending religious sentiments often incite protests. He added that while criticism of the government is more frequent on platforms like YouTube and TikTok than on X, the government does not take issue with social media criticism.

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