Surprise VPN blocks have caught Pakistani users off guard – here's what we know

VPN users in Pakistan have been hit with surprise blocks, as internet service providers (ISPs) target VPN services.

The move appears to be impacting some of the best VPNs, with Proton VPN the biggest name to see its users experience difficulties connecting to servers. However blockages aren't limited to Proton VPN and the standard protocols of any VPN provider are likely to be affected.

There has been no government statement regarding the blockages, but Pakistan has a history of targeting VPNs. Reports suggest blocking varies by ISP provider and standard VPN protocols are more at risk of detection.

Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) is likely being used to facilitate the blocks and therefore using obfuscated protocols like Proton VPN's Stealth are the best way to bypass them.

All ISPs impacted

According to Proton VPN's General Manager, David Peterson, VPN blocks have been taking place in Pakistan since December 22, 2025.

There hasn't yet been confirmation of how the blocks are being conducted but when approached for comment, Proton VPN has said all Pakistani ISPs are impacted "to varying degrees." The provider added that it's unclear whether the blocks are the result of national government action or the ISPs themselves.

The level of blocking isn't equal, with some ISPs blocking more than others. Peterson said Zong and PTCL are some of the "worst offenders."

The lack of an official government announcement has caught Pakistani VPN users off guard, and standard VPN protocols are struggling to connect to servers.

Peterson said WireGuard/TCP is getting through "60% of the time," and users may need to try multiple servers to achieve a connection. According to Peterson, WireGuard/UDP and OpenVPN "will usually fail."

Users will have greater success with Proton VPN's obfuscated Stealth protocol, one of its many dedicated anti-censorship features. Peterson said that in Pakistan, "Stealth is experiencing an overall connection success rate of around 80%."

Are all VPNs affected?

Without any official government announcement, it's hard to get a full and clear picture of what is currently occurring in Pakistan.

Tom's Guide reached out to NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN to see if they are experiencing connectivity issues.

At the time of writing, Surfshark's Senior Product Manager, Justas Pukys, confirmed "the situation appears stable for now." NordVPN also confirmed it "hasn't noticed anything unusual" with its servers in Pakistan. We are yet to hear from ExpressVPN.

However, due to Proton VPN Free, the provider's excellent free VPN plan, it's likely to have many more subscribers in Pakistan than these competitors – therefore seeing a more obvious impact on its servers.

What's more, those who do pay for a VPN may be using cheaper, less established apps that don't support obfuscation. These VPNs are likely to feel the full force of these blocks, leaving huge numbers of Pakistani internet users vulnerable and censored.

How to circumvent the blocks

Proton VPN and David Peterson shared a list of tips Proton VPN's Pakistani users can follow to stay connected and protected.

Where possible, you should be using the latest Windows or Android versions of Proton VPN. No mention was made of Mac VPN users but this is likely due to the platform's smaller user base in Pakistan.

WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols aren't resistant to Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), so switching to the Stealth protocol is a must. It obfuscates your VPN traffic to look like regular internet traffic, making it harder for ISPs and governments to detect and block.

Proton VPN also said that Alternative Routing should be enabled in Advanced Settings. Another anti-censorship feature, Alternative Routing automatically routes your VPN connection to different Proton VPN servers when it detects censorship.

Not every Proton VPN server is being affected. The provider recommended users try multiple servers. It said newer servers and those from smaller countries "have the best chance of success."

A user commented under Peterson's tweet saying they had success connecting to an Algerian server. Peterson replied by saying "a lot of people start with the 'A' countries." He recommended trying servers in smaller countries further down the list, including Mongolia, Togo, and Tajikistan.

Finally, Proton VPN said blocking success rates varied between ISPs. It said users could try switching connections if your ISPs are different. For example, if you're blocked when connected to Wi-Fi, try mobile data.

Throughout 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Pakistan launched attacks on VPNs. The government attempted to introduce licenses and eventually u-turned on a VPN ban. These actions may indicate a return to these attacks and marks one of the first cases of internet censorship in 2026.