ISLAMABAD: Hafeez ur Rehman, Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), on Monday, said that the IT industry cannot function without Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, held to address ongoing issues with internet disruptions across the country.
He said that PTA has blocked 500,000 immoral websites and noted that despite attempts by 2 million Pakistanis to access such sites, VPNs were still functioning in Pakistan.
Hafeez ur Rehman clarified that VPNs were crucial for freelancers and companies to avoid disruption in their businesses. In 2016, a policy was introduced for VPN registration, and currently, PTA has re-initiated the registration process. To date, 25,000 VPNs have been registered. He assured that once registered, VPN users would not face internet shutdowns.
During the meeting, Palwasha Khan expressed concerns over frequent internet outages, highlighting how the internet is crucial for the livelihood of the younger generation. She pointed out that when the ministry was asked about the issue, the response was that the Minister was busy, and she stated that they would take this matter directly to the Prime Minister.
Interestingly, members of the Senate Committee, including PPP Senator Palwasha Khan, PML-N Senator Afnanullah, and PTI Senator Mohmand, suggested that Pakistan should develop its own VPNs. They argued that since the VPN registration process can be time-consuming, locally developed VPNs could benefit both the state and the public.
Senator Kamran Murtaza emphasized that providing internet services is the constitutional responsibility of the federal government.
The committee also discussed the issue of unregistered VPNs. Senator Afnan Ullah raised concerns that the Ministry of Interior had written a letter to block illegal VPNs, but the IT Ministry was responsible for addressing this issue.
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