The Pakistan government said it has begun the registration of virtual private networks (VPNs) under what it called a ‘one-window’ operation at the telecommunication regulator and software export board website, a development that comes as the country faces widescale and prolonged internet services disruption.

“To facilitate businesses of software houses, call centers, freelancers and foreign missions/embassies for their legitimate, secure and uninterrupted operations, VPNs are being registered under ‘one window’ operations available at the PTA and PSEB website,” the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a statement.

“It is an ongoing activity which is being continuously streamlined by PTA, Ministry of IT, PSEB and P@SHA. Over 20,000 IPs have been registered for VPNs since 2020.”

It added that to ensure uninterrupted and secure online business, users will need to register their VPN at this web address: https://ipregistration.pta.gov.pk/.

An IT sector expert told Business Recorder that on days when services are blocked (election day, Muharram, etc) those with registered VPNs will not be impacted.

The development comes as Pakistan saw massive disruption in internet services, while X (formerly Twitter) remains blocked in the country for almost six months.

Since July, internet networks have been up to 40 percent slower than normal, according to one IT association, while documents, images and voice notes have been disrupted on WhatsApp, used by tens of millions of people.

Digital rights experts had stated that government is testing a firewall – a security system that monitors network traffic but can also be used to control online spaces. The government denies installing a firewall.

On August 15, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT sought an explanation from PTA Chairman Major General Hafeezur Rehman (retd) and asked him to provide reasons behind the disruption in social media services.

Later, State Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja categorically dismissed reports that the government was throttling the internet, stressing that the state was neither slowing down its speed nor shutting it down.

“The report of the government throttling internet is wrong,” she stated at a press conference in Islamabad on August 18.

However, three days later, Rehman attributed the development to a “faulty submarine cable”.

His remarks came during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT. He also said that no firewalls were being installed, adding that that it was the government’s web management system which was being upgraded.

Then, on August 28, the PTA stated that the ongoing internet slowdown across Pakistan was expected to prolong with repairs to the damaged SMW-4 submarine cable likely to be completed by early October 2024.

“The ongoing internet slowdown across the country is mainly due to fault in two (SMW4, AAE-1) of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally,” the PTA said in a statement.

“It is updated that fault in SMW-4 submarine cable is likely to be repaired by early October 2024.”

The authority further stated that the submarine cable AAE-1 has been repaired, “which may improve internet experience”.