Tag: pakistan

Pakistan Blocks Major VPNs Under New Licensing Rules, Expanding State Control Over Internet Access

Over the past two weeks, internet users in Pakistan have watched their encrypted connections vanish one after another. Beginning December 22, 2025, major VPNs, including Proton VPN, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Mullvad, Cloudflare WARP, and Psiphon have been systematically blocked across the country, according to Daily Pakistan.

The blackout follows a government licensing framework that, on paper, regulates VPN providers but in practice gives the state the power to decide which privacy tools are permitted.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) began enforcing its Class Value Added Services (CVAS-Data) licensing rules in November 2025, nearly a year after quietly introducing the policy.

Under these regulations, companies that want to operate legally must install “Legal Interception” compliant hardware and hand it over “to nationally authorized security organizations” at their own expense whenever instructed.

Any VPN not listed as licensed is automatically subject to blocking by domestic internet providers.

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Pakistan sentences journalists, YouTubers and ex-military officers to life over inciting violence

A court in Pakistan’s capital sentenced seven people, including three journalists, two YouTubers and two retired army officers, to life imprisonment on Friday, after convicting them of inciting violence during riots in 2023 and spreading hatred against state institutions.

An anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, announced the verdict in Islamabad after completing trials held in absentia.

None of the accused were present in court. They have been living abroad after leaving the country in recent years to avoid arrest.

Those convicted include former editor Shaheen Sehbai; two other journalists, Sabir Shakir and Moeed Pirzada; YouTubers Wajahat Saeed Khan and Haider Raza Mehdi; and retired army officers Adil Raja and Akbar Hussain.

According to the court order, the charges against the men stemmed from the violent unrest that erupted in May 2023 following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a graft case.

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Bloody Escalation on the Durand Line: Taliban Announce 58 Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Retaliation for Airspace Violations, Pakistan Reports 200 Afghan Fighters Eliminated and Closes Borders

On October 12, 2025, the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan became a battlefield. The Taliban, from Kabul, claimed responsibility for the deaths of 58 Pakistani soldiers in overnight retaliatory operations. These actions were in response to alleged airstrikes by Islamabad on Afghan territory the previous Thursday.

The Taliban government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, detailed in a press conference that Afghan forces captured 25 Pakistani military posts. He also reported 30 enemy soldiers wounded and the seizure of weapons and ammunition. «Up to nine of our mujahideen have been martyred and 18 wounded,» Mujahid specified.

From Islamabad, the Pakistani Army contradicted the figures. It admitted 23 of its own casualties and 29 wounded. In contrast, it claimed to have neutralized over 200 Taliban and allied fighters, including members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Pakistani security sources described the Afghan attacks as «unprovoked» and highlighted the destruction of terrorist camps.

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Pakistan Proves Green Energy Is Not The Answer: Inside Their Solar Powered Water Crisis

Green energy solutions were supposed to rescue Pakistan’s farms. Instead, it’s supercharged pumping, emptied wells, and pushed the country’s most populous province towards a critical water emergency. So, while we continue to hear that our environment is at risk from man-made climate change, how can we ignore the irreparable damage being done to the very same environment green energy is supposed to save? 

What’s Happening in Pakistan?

Farmers in Punjab – a region home to 128 million people – have rushed to replace diesel systems with solar-powered tube wells. But, while it’s now cheaper and more “environmentally friendly” to power irrigation, it’s turbo-charged a water shortage in the province. Irrigation runs longer and more often and cropping patterns are shifting towards thirstier staples, while groundwater levels in key districts continue to fall. With the increased opportunity generated by cheap “green” energy, new wells are appearing across villages, boreholes dig deeper, and water tables are on their way to extinction. 

Punjab is the hardest hit region, but all around the country, most rural homes draw from groundwater. While the resources are being drained by solar panels though, it becomes more expensive and more difficult for families to access dwindling water supply, and salinity creeps up in the soils. So, while switching from diesel to solar power will sound like a victory on paper to most, its rushed adoption is affecting millions of people’s access to water. 

A Warning to the World

This is not a small problem. Punjab is one of the largest subnational populations on the planet, and on its own would be the 11th most populous country in the world. This current green-powered crisis is a case study in how blindly encouraging renewable energy sources in the name of hitting targets can affect entire countries.  

While countries are increasingly pushing farmers to use solar power, they should be learning from Pakistan who jumped on green energy sources before implementing any kind of policy on its usage. And it’s only taken a few years.  

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“Nuclear Bombs On Rent”? Has Saudi Arabia Just Rented Pakistan’s Nukes By Signing Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement?

In the grand halls of Riyadh’s royal palaces, where the air carries the smell of incense and strong purpose, two leaders came together on September 17, 2025. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed a deal that feels like a big shake-up in the Middle East.

This Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement, or SMDA, says that if one country is attacked, it’s like attacking both.

This sounds a lot like NATO’s famous Article 5, where members promise to defend each other. But this agreement is different—it’s between just two countries, and it hints at Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, about 170 of them, which Saudi Arabia has wanted for years.

Has the Kingdom, which guards the sentiments of millions, basically rented a nuclear shield from its friend without building its own? Has Pakistan opened up a shop selling protection to other countries?

This isn’t just a simple agreement; it’s a smart move that could bring Islamic nations closer or start a big worry about nuclear spread from Iran to Israel. Pakistan has started a trend of ‘RENT THE BOMB’.

The signing event was full of symbols—green and white flags waving like proud banners, the two men in traditional robes and suits shaking hands under high ceilings. But behind the pictures lies a deeper story.

For more than 50 years, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have been close allies. The Saudis have sent billions of dollars—over $30 billion since the 1980s—to help Pakistan with its military and economy.

In return, Pakistan has sent soldiers to protect Mecca and Medina, like during the 1979 takeover of the Grand Mosque, and trained Saudi troops to fight rebels. It was a fair trade:

Pakistan, stuck between big India and troubled Afghanistan, needed money to build its nuclear program after losing half its country in 1971. Saudi Arabia, surrounded by enemies like revolutionary Iran and Iraq, wanted a strong Sunni partner.

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Pakistan Uses Geofencing to Track, Disable Digital IDs of Protesters

Pakistani authorities have moved to disable the national ID and passports of individuals linked to the unrest that unfolded on May 9, 2023, turning to geo-fencing technology to track the presence of mobile devices near demonstration sites.

The protesters were protesting the arrest of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.

The tactic draws on the country’s highly centralized digital identity infrastructure, which is managed by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

Following a wave of civil disorder earlier in the year, the state has turned its attention to restricting those it believes were involved, though officials have not released exact figures.

The action adds a new layer to NADRA’s already significant role in overseeing identification and mobility in Pakistan. The agency had previously played a key part in enforcing nationwide SIM registration by linking phone access to verified ID credentials.

The main aspect of the current operation is the use of geofencing, a surveillance method that defines virtual boundaries around locations and tracks which mobile devices enter those areas.

By analyzing mobile network signals, authorities are able to determine who was present near protest hotspots during specific periods and take action accordingly. The approach allows for highly targeted enforcement, based on digital footprints rather than conventional investigative methods.

This use of data to restrict identity documents marks a profound escalation in how digital ID systems are being weaponized.

In Pakistan, ID cards and passports are essential for almost every aspect of life; banking, public services, travel, and even mobile phone use. Withholding these documents amounts to cutting individuals off from full participation in society.

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UK Contractor Extradited to U.S., Pleads Guilty in Massive USAID Fraud Scheme Tied to Pakistan Energy Program

A UK citizen who ripped off American taxpayers through a U.S.-funded foreign aid program has been sentenced to time served after a brazen kickback scheme drained nearly $100,000 in USAID funds — and he’ll now be handed over to immigration authorities.

Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, 53, of the United Kingdom, pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C. federal court Monday to conspiring to commit theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, a felony offense.

Sutton was a Logistics Operations Manager for a contractor implementing the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Power Distribution Program (PDP) in Pakistan — a five-year effort that was supposed to help modernize Pakistan’s failing electric utilities.

Instead, Sutton and his co-conspirator, who remains under indictment, lined their pockets by setting up bogus shell companies that funneled inflated contracts for forklifts and crane services — all under the guise of helping Pakistan’s struggling power grid. Sutton personally pocketed at least $21,000 in kickbacks.

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 According to court documents, PDP was a component of U.S. government assistance to the government of Pakistan to support its energy sector.

Launched in September 2010, the five-year program was designed to facilitate improvements in Pakistan’s government-owned electric power distribution companies through interventions and projects addressing governance issues, technical and non-technical losses, and low revenue collection.

The main goal of the PDP was to improve the commercial performance of the participating distribution companies through technology upgrades and improvements in processes, procedures, and practices, as well as training and capacity building.

Under the PDP contract, Sutton’s employer subcontracted through purchase orders with vendors in Pakistan for certain goods and services.

From May through November 2015, Sutton and his co-conspirator, an employee supervised by Sutton, participated in a kickback scheme by creating two companies, obtaining PDP purchase orders for forklift and crane services for the companies, and distributing the profits to themselves.

As part of the scheme, his co-conspirator arranged for low-grade local vendors to provide the services for at least half the contract rates, and Sutton ensured that the company paid the invoices despite suspicions raised by an accounts payable officer.

U.S. government sentencing documents indicate the agency was defrauded of almost $100,000 and that for his part, Sutton received at least $21,000 in kickbacks.

Sutton’s co-conspirator is also charged by indictment and his case is pending disposition.

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Trump Announces US-Mediated ‘Full and Immediate Ceasefire’ Between Warring Nuclear Powers India and Pakistan

The situation between warring neighbors (and nuclear powers) India and Pakistan seemed to be devolving into an open war, as the two countries targeted military bases and exchanged missile and drone attacks.

This military conflict arose after a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region, raising concerns of a full-blown military confrontation between the two nations that have Historically had a tumultuous relationship, marked by multiple conflicts since their partition in 1947.

But the efforts by the US Donald J. Trump administration have made a difference: after a full night of negotiations mediated by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a ceasefire has been achieved.

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Did Pakistan really shoot down five Indian fighter jets?

At just after 1am local time on Wednesday morning, Indian fighter jets took off for the launch of Operation Sindoor, a series of strikes targeting alleged terrorist camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

French-made Rafales and Russian MiGs were in the air for less than half an hour, firing missiles that crashed into nine targets across the border. The question now gripping the region is whether all of them returned.

The first site struck was the Abbas camp in the city of Kotli, about 13km across the Line of Control in Kashmir, at 1.04am.

Vyomika Singh, a wing commander in the Indian air force (IAF), said that the camp had been used by suicide bombers from Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT), the group New Delhi blames for killing 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.

In grainy, bird’s-eye video posted online by the information wing of India’s armed forces, small clouds of black smoke puff up from a scrubby hillside as the missiles explode on impact.

Some of the eight other operations targeted sites much deeper inside Pakistan, including the Subhnallah mosque compound in the Punjabi city of Bahawalpur and an LeT training camp in the city of Muridke, a short distance north of Lahore.

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India Confirms Strikes On Pakistan’s “Terrorist Camps”; Pakistan Claims 5 Jets Shot-Down

India confirmed early Wednesday that it had conducted strikes on Pakistan, two weeks after more than two dozen civilians were killed in a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India said it had struck Pakistan after gathering evidence “pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists” in last month’s attack on civilians in a tourist area in Kashmir.

It said that its military actions on Wednesday had been “measured, responsible and designed to be nonescalatory in nature.” 

It added that it had targeted only “known terror camps.”

India’s defense ministry said in the statement that nine sites had been targeted in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. 

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature,” it said in a statement, calling it “Operation Sindoor.”

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