Srinagar, 30 December 2025: The administration has taken a major step to maintain national security and public order in Jammu and Kashmir. A complete ban has been imposed on the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) in many districts of Kashmir region. Security forces have now increased cell phone surveillance to catch those violating the prohibitory orders.

Recently, new orders to ban VPN have been issued by Kupwara, Kulgam and Shopian District Magistrates. Kupwara Magistrate Shrikant Balasaheb Suse had said that, according to police reports, the use of VPN by a large number of suspicious internet users is increasing in the district, which is a matter of concern.

• Why was the ban imposed?

The government order has clarified about the dangers of VPN, that VPN can be used to spread unrest and misleading or inflammatory content. Cyber ​​criminals and anti-national elements take the help of VPN to hide their identity and coordinate criminal activities. It has come to light that VPNs are being misused to access content that has been banned by the government.

• Legal action against violators

This ban is already in force in many districts of Jammu and Kashmir. In the last one month, crimes have been registered against more than 10 people for using VPN. Magistrates have instructed the police to intensify surveillance and take strict legal action against anyone caught using VPN on mobile.

According to experts, misuse of VPN poses a major threat to national security. Cyber ​​enemies also use this technology to hide activities like network infiltration or data theft. Therefore, to protect public order, the administration has been forced to impose this temporary restriction.