The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications was set to convene on November 18 to discuss the blocking of VPNs, with or without the ministry’s participation. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Palwasha Khan, who chairs the committee, confirmed the meeting will proceed despite repeated refusals from the ministry to attend. “We will present our reservations regarding their performance and critically evaluate it as well as to why do they not want to come?” she said.

Senator Khan expressed frustration over the ministry’s absence, emphasizing the session’s importance given the widespread internet disruptions and mounting concerns over VPN restrictions. “It is very upsetting that I have called for a meeting of the IT committee on November 18 and the ministry has written to me for the second time that they were unavailable,” she said.

 Khan questioned the ministry’s priorities. “When the internet in your country is not working. When jobs of the people in your country are being affected, people have been separated from each other and the world […] you have separate engagements,” she remarked, calling for transparency and urging the ministry to share any challenges they face.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has intensified its enforcement of VPN regulations. On November 13, PTA announced VPN restrictions aimed at blocking access to pornographic and profane content, stating that over 844,000 adult websites and 100,000 URLs featuring blasphemy had been restricted.

Security concerns were also cited as the basis for stricter measures. A Ministry of Interior directive on November 15 ordered the nationwide blocking of unauthorized VPNs. “VPNs are increasingly being exploited to obscure communication, enabling illegal activities,” the letter stated, emphasizing the urgency of curbing unauthorized use.