VPN demand soars in Pakistan as internet remains restricted

People in Pakistan have been turning en masse to the best VPN apps once again over the past few days, as the country’s internet gets increasingly restricted.

As per data coming from Top10VPN, VPN demand has been soaring since Sunday, November 24, and is now expected to reach a 330% increase above the baseline. On Monday, Proton VPN also recorded a spike in VPN sign-ups from the country of 730% above normal levels.

This surge comes as Pakistan restricted access to WhatsApp over the weekend, ahead of planned anti-government protests. Only two days before, authorities blocked Bluesky as it gained more traction worldwide. X, Facebook, and Instagram are other popular platforms that cannot be accessed without a VPN at the time of writing.

While virtual private network (VPN) services keep being crucial tools for both residents and visitors who need to browse the free web, it’s just a matter of days before people in Pakistan could lose VPN access as authorities are set to implement a new VPN policy at the end of November.

Pakistan VPN new rules

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is urging all businesses and freelance workers to register their VPN services before the November 30 deadline to avoid disruptions. The debate is still ongoing, however, on whether or not commercial VPN usage should also be blocked.

Certainly, the use of VPNs outside of legitimate purposes, such as education, banking, IT companies, and call centers, has attracted some criticism.

On November 15, for example, Pakistan’s religious chief argued that using a VPN is against Islamic law and called for a ban. Despite blaming a typo error in the statement a few days later – The News reported – the Ministry of Interior also called to block all “illegal” VPNs on the same day, claiming that terrorists use these tools “to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan.”

Residents also lamented issues using their VPN apps all day on November 9, in what appeared to be the beginning of the crackdown on “unregistered” VPNs. Authorities would later confirm the incidents to be a…