KARACHI: Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Raghib Naeemi clarified on Monday that the misuse of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and not the technology itself, was “un-Islamic”.

Dr Naeemi has been under fire since Friday when the council — which advises parliament on aligning legislation with Islamic teachings — proclaimed that using VPNs to access “illegal content or blocked websites” was against Sharia.

Speaking to Geo News on Monday, Dr Naeemi said: “Whether it is a registered VPN or unregistered, if attempts are made to access indecent or immoral sites, character assassination is done, statements are being made against national security, or if various incidents of religious blasphemy are being spread through it, then [using] it would completely be un-Islamic.”

Amnesty International has also criticised the government’s efforts to ban VPNs, calling it a “violation” of the right to privacy.

In a post on X, Amnesty Tech said the ban on “illegal or unregistered” VPNs would violate the “right to privacy under international law.

Separately, in an open letter, the Public Relations Events Digital Activation Association lamented the frequent disruption of the internet, calling it a “threat” to the “wellbeing of our collective industries”.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2024