VPN ban in Pakistan: How to protect yourself online and bypass restrictions

Using VPN in Pakistan has never been so high, the government is set to introduce a new policy that could potentially ban the use of “unregistered” services starting today, November 30, 2024.

People in Pakistan turned to VPN services in droves during 2024, looking for a way to bypass growing online censorship. WhatsApp is simple the latest social media platform is currently blocked in the country The block arrived two days later authorities restricted Bluesky against the background of growing popularity all over the world. X, Facebook and Instagram also cannot be accessed without a VPN.

I spoke to some experts to understand what’s at stake and learn everything you might need to help preserve internet freedom in the country.

How to avoid crashes in Pakistan

Configure the VPN manually
Contact VPN support
Alternate between VPN providers

Gitis Malinauskas, Head of Legal at Surfshark, advises if you’re having trouble downloading or using the VPN over the next few days or weeks setting up a VPN connection manually. You can probably find details on how to do this on specific devices on your ISP’s website, such as this step by step instructions by Surfshark. Note that this still requires a VPN account.

If that doesn’t work, contact your provider’s support for help “Our team is constantly working to provide our users with privacy and security solutions, even in regions with difficult internet,” explains Malinauskas.

The chart shows the rapid growth of VPN registrations in Pakistan since November 21, 2024. — Since the beginning of the year, Proton VPN has seen a dramatic increase in VPN registrations from Pakistan, with the latest increase reaching +2860% from its baseline on November 26, 2024. (Image: Proton)

Both Malinauskas and Simon Miliano, head of research at Top10VPN, also recommend it rotating through multiple VPN providers.

Are free VPNs the answer?

Potentially. I suggest checking out ours the best free VPN page to get all the safest free gifts – PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN are the best choices today.

“It’s probably going to be a bit of a lottery, at least initially,” Miliano told TechRadar. “Based on the recent test runs of Pakistan’s new firewall, I expect VPN blocking to become much more widespread from November 30. But as we’ve seen in countries with much more mature internet censorship regimes like China and Iran, it’s nearly impossible to block all VPNs permanently.”

It’s worth noting that the legal basis for using a VPN to bypass restrictions in Pakistan after November 30 is not yet clear. Commenting on the matter, Miliano 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.”

Alternatives to using a VPN in Pakistan

Tor browser
Proxy services
SmartDNS service

VPNs may be the most common and easy-to-use bypass tool, but they’re certainly not the only way to bypass internet blocks, bans, and other geo-restrictions.

Tor browser this is probably the best VPN alternative you can use. Completely free to use, Tor is even considered a more secure option because it routes your internet connections (and data in transit) through at least three encrypted layers. However, this enhanced encryption can significantly slow down your connection speed.

It is almost impossible to block all VPNs permanently
Simon Miliano, Top10VPN

Proxy services is another effective method of spoofing your IP address to trick your ISP (Internet Service Provider) into thinking you are browsing web pages from a completely different country in just a few clicks.

The downside here is that, unlike VPNs, proxies don’t encrypt your internet connections, making them less secure. Since Pakistan’s firewall is also expected to increase online surveillance, I recommend using this method as a last resort – especially now, as it’s unclear what the risk is of circumventing government-imposed online restrictions.

You can also use a SmartDNS service to easily bypass geo-restrictions on the Internet. Again, these services don’t offer the same level of protection as a VPN, meaning they don’t encrypt your data. What’s worse, SmartDNS doesn’t even change your IP address, it just redirects your location information.

Why does Pakistan restrict VPN usage?

The government initially shared plans for regulate VPN usage back in August to curb VPN abuse. Power later are considered unregistered VPNs a “security risk” to Pakistan because they can be used to access “sensitive data”.

Under the new policy, VPN use is still allowed for legitimate purposes such as banking, foreign missions, corporate businesses, universities, IT companies, call centers and freelance professionals.

This is why the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is urging businesses and freelancers to register their VPN services with The deadline is November 30 to avoid disruption.

The the debate is still ongoinghowever, whether commercial VPN use should also be blocked. said that VPNs have often been targeted over the course of a year, with residents experiencing intermittent connection issues starting in February (when the former Twitter was first restricted).

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A VPN that encrypts the data stream — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

The the best VPN Apps are security software that encrypt your internet connections to prevent tracking. They also spoof your real IP address to increase anonymity and provide access to geo-restricted content.

Not only is this a strict new policy, but VPN censorship is expected to worsen as the government tightens its filtering technology.

as This is reported by Al JazeeraThe Pakistani government has implemented a firewall similar to China’s, which was first tested in mid-July. This system could not only allow authorities to better monitor online traffic, but also more effectively control the use of popular applications.

In particular, Pakistan’s new firewall “has the ability to block VPNs,” a defense ministry official familiar with the new deployments told Al Jazeera.

At the time of writing, it is too early to determine the full impact of this on people using VPNs to continue accessing the free internet. Experts, however, are concerned about this surge in internet censorship.

“Attempts to increase online surveillance always raise concerns about digital privacy and freedom of expression,” Gitis Malinauskas, Head of Legal at Surfshark, told TechRadar. “It can also worsen the digital divide and inequality between those who have access to unfiltered information and those who cannot.”