You work from home in Lahore for a client in London. The client's system only lets you in from a UK address. So you switch on a VPN. Then a news alert lands: the government is cracking down on VPNs. You wonder, can I get arrested for this?
The short answer: using a VPN is not a crime
Using a VPN is legal in Pakistan. No section of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) punishes a person just for using one. PTA itself said this out loud in December 2024. The Ministry of Law and Justice had told it there was no legal standing to block VPNs, and PTA withdrew its planned ban (Dawn report).
What a VPN actually is
A VPN is a private tunnel between your phone or computer and a website. Your data travels through the tunnel, so the website sees the VPN's address instead of yours. Think of it as a private road. People on the main road cannot see what you carry.
People use VPNs for different reasons. Privacy. Public wifi safety. Reaching a work server. And yes, reaching sites the government has blocked. The reason matters, because the law looks at what you do, not just which tool you use. The same logic applies to other tools with a grey legal status. We explained it for cryptocurrency in an earlier post: is cryptocurrency legal in Pakistan.
Why PTA cannot simply ban VPNs
PTA's blocking power comes from PECA 2016. Section 37 lets authorities remove or block unlawful online content. Section 48 lets PTA direct service providers in the interest of preventing electronic crimes.
But the law talks about content. It does not talk about apps. In late 2024 PTA read the law one way and the law ministry read it another, and the ministry's reading won. PTA announced on 1 December 2024 that it would not ban VPNs, because the clauses in PECA did not give it that power. You can block content. A VPN is a tool, not content.
What PTA does instead: register, license, block
The ban idea did not die. It changed shape. In November 2024 PTA gave unregistered VPNs a two week deadline and said enforcement would start on 1 December. Companies and freelancers were told to register their VPNs and whitelist their IPs on the PTA registration portal. The December crackdown was called off, but the registration system stayed.
Then PTA switched direction. Instead of chasing every VPN user, it started licensing VPN providers. In November 2025 it granted class licences to companies including Steer Lucid, Crest, Kestrel, QuiXure and Kryptonyme (The News report). Users can now buy VPN service from a licensed provider without a separate IP registration. Trading platforms sit in a similar regulator driven grey zone, as we covered in is IQ Option legal in Pakistan.
By January 2026 PTA had licensed nine local VPN providers, and more than 30,000 users had registered (Pakistan Today). Unregistered VPN apps have been blocked since late 2025. Proton said its apps were restricted from 22 December 2025 (TechRadar report). The pattern is consistent. The state regulates the providers, and users are expected to pick a licensed service.
When a VPN gets you into trouble
A VPN is not a shield. If you use one to commit an offence under PECA, the offence is still an offence. Fraud, harassment, spreading fake information, accessing unlawful content. The tool you used does not erase the act. This is the same rule we explained for is alcohol legal in Pakistan. The act matters more than the tool.
The 2025 amendment to PECA changed the enforcement picture. It created the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA) with power to order the removal or blocking of unlawful or offensive content, and even to block a social media platform that does not comply (the amendment act). It also moved cybercrime investigation from the FIA cybercrime wing to a new agency, the NCCIA. None of this makes VPN use a crime. It does mean the state has more machinery to police what happens online.
What this means for you
You use a VPN for privacy or work. There is nothing illegal about that. But unregistered apps may stop working, so a licensed provider is the safer choice.
You run a business or freelance for foreign clients. Register your IPs with PTA, or use a licensed provider, so your work does not get interrupted.
You use a VPN to commit a crime. The VPN will not protect you. PECA applies to the act itself, and the NCCIA investigates.
The policy keeps moving. PTA changed its VPN position several times between 2024 and 2026. If your business depends on a VPN, check the current PTA position before you commit. More plain language law guides for Pakistan live on the Lexiber blog, and you can browse lexiber.com for the free legal AI.
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