The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) recently cleared up confusion about its stance on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The chairman, Allama Raghib Naeemi, explained that a mistake in their earlier statement caused the misunderstanding. He said VPNs are not un-Islamic or ‘haram’.
The mix-up began when a CII statement seemed to say that using VPNs was un-Islamic. This led the Ministry of Interior to ask the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block unregistered VPNs. After this, several VPN services were reportedly blocked.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Allama Naeemi clarified, “Social media is a great way to share ideas, but it should not be used for things like blasphemy, spreading hate, or promoting violence.”
He explained that if people use social media for harmful purposes, then such actions could be considered un-Islamic. However, he made it clear that the CII never declared VPNs themselves as un-Islamic. The confusion happened because of a small typing error where the word ‘not’ was left out of their statement.
Allama Naeemi also urged everyone to use social media responsibly and avoid spreading hatred or causing harm to others.
