• There are 15mn hits on indecent websites daily, says CII chief.
• CII gave unwarranted opinion on VPN, says Rana Sanaullah.
• SAPM says VPN matter has nothing to do with the sharia.

Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Raghib Hussain Naeemi on Monday gave a clarification on the body’s fatwa (Islamic decree) regarding VPN, an encrypted internet network, saying its nature of being Islamic or un-Islamic mainly depended on its usage.

“No matter if VPN is registered or unregistered, it will be un-Islamic if it is used for indecent content and false propaganda,” said Naeemi speaking on Geo News morning show, “Geo Pakistan”.

Stressing the need to block access to immoral or blasphemous content on the internet, the CII on November 15 declared the use of VPN as un-Islamic.

In a statement, CII Chairman Naeemi had said the government had the right to curb evil and prevent access to it. He had stated that taking measures to prevent or restrict the access to immoral and offensive content was in accordance with the Sharia.

Explaining the backdrop against which the fatwa was issued, he said on Geo News’ programme that since most of the VPN usage was to access indecent websites, therefore, the CII declared it un-Islamic.

The CII chief said, according to the reports shared with him, there were 15 million hits on indecent sites daily.

“If you register the VPN and do positive criticism, then there is no harm,” he said, emphasising on registration of VPN.

On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah said he was not aware of the government’s opinion on blocking VPN.

Speaking on “Naya Pakistan” programme, the PM’s special assistant on political affairs said the matter of VPN was not for the CII or Naeemi to take up.

“The CII gave an unwarranted opinion on the VPN,” he said, adding that it had nothing to do with the shariat.

He further clarified that the government imposed restriction for misuse of social media platform X.