Phones sold in Pakistan are increasingly built here, but mostly from imported parts. A draft policy from the Ministry of Industries and Production wants to change that, aiming for as much as 50% of a handset’s value to come from local work.
An official document puts today’s figure at roughly 10 to 20%. The ministry is reviewing a successor to the 2020-2023 mobile policy that drew assembly plants into the country, and wants companies to start making components rather than screwing together imported kits. The document gives no date for the new policy and says it will only work if a competitive supplier base and higher-value investment follow.
Locally built phones already dominate
Between January and September 2026, factories turned out 20.08 million handsets. Only 2.85 million finished phones were imported through commercial channels. Roughly 12 million of the local output were basic 2G phones and eight million were smartphones, and PTA figures put smartphones at 71% of active devices.
The import bill reflects it: $417.24 million in July to September, down from about $500.01 million a year earlier. September alone was $143.14 million, up 7.1% on August but 28.2% below September 2025.
A new name on top
VGO TEL built 2.50 million phones in the nine months, ahead of Infinix with 1.96 million and Itel with 1.59 million. TECNO made 1.16 million, Samsung 1.04 million, Vivo 0.99 million and Nokia 0.97 million.
That reshuffles the order. Infinix was first in both 2024 (3.98 million) and 2025 (3.65 million), with VGO TEL a close second at 3.57 million in 2025. This year’s totals stop at September, so the full-year ranking is still open.
