Why is Apple paying more attention to Pakistan?

For years, Apple has had a curious relationship with Pakistan.

Pakistanis have bought iPhones, paid for Apple services and built businesses around the Apple ecosystem, but the company itself has had relatively little visible local presence. There is no Apple-owned retail store, Apple Pay is unavailable and the company has not established any local iPhone manufacturing.

That appears to be changing — at least at the level of engagement.

Apple has now appointed Salman Dar as its first Head of Government Affairs for Pakistan, giving the company a dedicated executive to engage with regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders. Dar himself says his role will involve leading Apple’s government affairs activities in Pakistan.

Shortly after this news, Apple started rolling out Apple TV and Apple Arcade at no extra cost to paid iCloud+ subscribers in Pakistan, with users receiving emails about the expanded subscription benefits.

So why is Apple paying more attention to Pakistan now?

There is no public statement from Apple saying exactly what has prompted the change. But several developments offer clues.

Pakistan is a bigger digital market than it used to be

Pakistan is not a small digital market.

DataReportal estimates that there were 117 million internet users in Pakistan at the end of 2025, alongside 194 million cellular mobile connections.

That does not mean 117 million potential iPhone customers — smartphone ownership, income levels and Apple’s premium pricing all matter. But it does mean the country’s digital consumer base is substantial and increasingly connected.

And there is evidence of strong demand for Apple products specifically.

According to the government, smartphone imports rose sharply in FY2025-26, with industry feedback indicating that around 60–70% of the increase in completely built smartphone imports consisted of new and used Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices. Neither brand is currently manufactured locally.

In other words, Pakistanis are already buying the products. The question is whether Apple sees an opportunity to build a more formal relationship with the market around that demand.

Pakistan also wants Apple to come closer

The other side of the equation is what Pakistan wants from Apple.

The government has been pushing major smartphone companies towards local manufacturing and assembly. In a recent National Assembly committee briefing, the PTA chairman said around 92% of smartphones being used in Pakistan are manufactured or assembled locally, while the remaining imported segment consists primarily of Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices.

The committee subsequently directed the government to encourage Apple and other major smartphone manufacturers to establish local manufacturing or assembly facilities in Pakistan.

That creates a very different proposition for Apple.

Pakistan is no longer simply asking whether people can buy iPhones. It is also asking whether one of the world’s biggest technology companies can become part of its domestic technology and manufacturing ecosystem.

Whether Apple is actually considering local manufacturing is not confirmed. But the fact that the government is actively seeking it — while Apple has simultaneously established a dedicated government-affairs position — is difficult to ignore.

India shows what deeper engagement can look like

The contrast with India is striking.

Apple opened its first two directly operated Indian stores in Mumbai and Delhi in 2023. By February 2026, it had expanded to six Apple Stores across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Noida, alongside an Apple online store and Apple Store app.

India has also become an important manufacturing base for the company. Apple has been expanding iPhone production there through its manufacturing partners, making India increasingly significant to its global supply chain.

The comparison does not mean Pakistan is about to follow the same path. India has a much larger consumer market and manufacturing ecosystem. But it does illustrate the difference between being a market where Apple products are sold and becoming a market in which Apple has a broader physical, commercial and industrial presence.

Pakistan currently sits much closer to the first category.

Then there is the policy conversation

A company operating at Apple’s scale cannot treat regulation as an afterthought.

Import duties, taxation, digital services, consumer protection, telecommunications regulation and potential manufacturing incentives all affect how a company operates in a market.

That makes a dedicated government-affairs executive significant even if it does not mean an Apple Store or factory is around the corner.

Salman Dar’s appointment is therefore best understood as evidence of deeper engagement, rather than proof of a particular investment.

His background also makes the appointment interesting. Before joining Apple, Dar was CEO of IT company Itroos and held leadership positions at the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), giving him experience with Pakistan’s technology industry and its policy environment.

But Pakistan still does not have the full Apple experience

The limits of Apple’s current presence are just as revealing.

Pakistan is included in Apple’s iCloud+ pricing structure, but Apple Pay is still not listed among the countries and regions where the service is available.

There is also no announced Apple-owned retail store in Pakistan.

So this is not yet an Apple “entry” in the traditional sense.

It is better described as Apple becoming more formally engaged with a market it has historically served largely from the outside.

Why does this matter?

Because Pakistan is increasingly competing for the attention of global technology companies.

Google has already established a physical office in Pakistan and is pursuing an AI Centre of Excellence with the government. Apple is taking a different route, but its new government-affairs presence comes at a time when Pakistan is actively trying to attract international technology investment, local manufacturing and greater participation in the global digital economy.

The opportunity for Pakistan is obvious — but so is the need to ask what it actually gets in return.

A local presence could eventually mean investment, jobs, skills, technology partnerships, manufacturing or a stronger developer ecosystem. But simply having a multinational company engage with Pakistan does not automatically produce those outcomes.

For Apple, meanwhile, Pakistan offers something it already has: consumers who are willing to buy its products.

The question is whether the relationship is now moving beyond that.

For years, Pakistan was largely a market where people bought Apple.

The more interesting question now is whether Apple intends to build anything here.

There is no answer yet.

But the appointment of a dedicated government-affairs head, strong consumer demand for iPhones, the government’s push for local manufacturing and the expansion of Apple’s digital services all point in the same direction: Pakistan appears to have become more relevant to Apple’s strategy than it was before.

What comes next will show whether that means simply better market access — or the beginnings of a much deeper presence.