The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority wants to close one of the last blind spots in its mobile identity regime: foreign SIM cards and travel eSIMs roaming on Pakistani networks. Under draft rules released for public consultation, any visitor using a foreign connection in Pakistan would have to verify their identity — and anyone roaming on a foreign SIM for 90 days or more in a six-month window could see that connection blocked.
The proposal, titled the International Roaming (Inbound) Regulations, 2026, was reported on the basis of official PTA documents this week. It is a draft, not law — the details can change before anything takes effect.
Key Takeaways
- PTA’s draft International Roaming (Inbound) Regulations, 2026 would require identity verification for foreign SIMs and eSIMs using Pakistani networks.
- Roaming connections active 90+ days in any 180-day period could be classified as permanent roaming and blocked if legitimate temporary use can’t be verified.
- Travel SIM/eSIM aggregators would need PTA registration, and operators would face 72-hour response deadlines on subscriber-information requests.
The core of the proposal: no more anonymous roaming
Right now, a foreign SIM card connecting to a Pakistani network goes through no local identity check. A Pakistani SIM, by contrast, cannot be activated without biometric verification tied to a CNIC. That asymmetry is the gap PTA is trying to close.
Under the draft regulations, mobile operators would have to build a Know Your Customer process for inbound roaming users. A visitor landing in Pakistan and switching on a foreign SIM or eSIM could be asked to provide:
- Passport or travel document details and nationality
- The roaming SIM or eSIM identifiers
- The name of the foreign home operator
- Arrival date and expected duration of stay, where available
Verification could happen through activation checks, verification links in the welcome SMS, a PTA-approved digital portal, or cross-checking with immigration and border-control records. For data-only eSIMs that cannot receive SMS, alternative procedures would be designed to keep identity checks workable.
The 90-day “permanent roaming” rule
The most consequential clause defines permanent roaming as a connection that stays active for 90 days or more within any 180-day period. If an operator cannot verify that such a connection is being used for legitimate temporary purposes, it could be suspended or blocked.
That threshold appears aimed at a known practice: people living in Pakistan long-term while staying on a foreign SIM — often through cheap travel eSIM plans — rather than taking out a locally registered connection. For ordinary tourists, a two-week holiday sits well below the line. Long-term residents relying on roaming as a workaround would be pushed toward a local, verifiable SIM.
Travel eSIM providers brought into the fold
The draft would also extend PTA’s oversight to travel SIM and eSIM aggregators — the companies selling data packages to travellers visiting Pakistan. These providers would need to:
- Register with PTA
- Disclose their network partners and distribution channels
- Appoint a local contact person
- Share information on SIM issuance, activation, KYC details, and usage
These aggregators currently operate at arm’s length from Pakistan’s telecom rules. Registration would give the regulator visibility into who is selling connectivity to visitors and on what terms.
New duties for operators — and for foreign networks
Pakistani operators would face new obligations:
| Obligation | Detail |
|---|---|
| Record retention | Roaming records kept for at least 12 months |
| Reporting | Regular reports to PTA, plus monitoring of suspicious traffic patterns |
| Subscriber requests | Can request subscriber information from foreign home operators, with a 72-hour response deadline — or 24 hours in urgent fraud or security cases |
| Blocking | Must suspend or block roaming when credible information shows illegal or abusive activity |
The centralised database of blocked inbound roaming connections closes a familiar loophole: if one network blocks a connection, the database makes the block stick nationwide, so the user cannot simply reconnect through another operator.
Why PTA says this is necessary
PTA’s stated reasons read like a catalogue of the fraud vectors investigators have struggled with: spoofed calls, SMS phishing, extortion, e-commerce fraud, and the misuse of social media accounts — including accounts allegedly used to spread fake news and hate speech — all operated through hard-to-trace connections.
The regulator has also flagged foreign SIMs being used as substitutes for local connections, including inside machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The draft would limit the use of M2M and IoT SIMs for ordinary consumer voice calls, SMS, and general data — though PTA could approve genuine industrial applications case by case.
Revenue is part of the calculus too. PTA has pointed to losses for the national exchequer and for Pakistani operators from connections that bypass the local system.
For most people, the impact is indirect. If you buy a local SIM, nothing changes:
Overseas Pakistanis visiting home. If you roam on your foreign SIM while visiting, expect identity checks under the new process. The existing route remains: a Pakistani SIM issued on your NICOP, or the DIRBS temporary facility letting overseas Pakistanis and foreign visitors register one personal device for up to 120 days from arrival, free of duties and taxes.
Frequent travellers and business visitors. Short, repeated visits are unlikely to trip the 90-day threshold, but the identity-verification step would apply.
Long-term users of foreign roaming. This is the group the 90-day rule targets. If you live or work in Pakistan on a foreign SIM or a rolling travel eSIM, the draft rules would eventually force a switch — or risk disconnection.
Travel eSIM resellers and aggregators. Registration and disclosure obligations would add a compliance layer to selling connectivity packages for Pakistan.
Caveats
Readers should not treat the draft as settled policy:
- It is a proposal. PTA opened the draft for consultation; the final regulations may look different after industry feedback. The public-comment deadline itself is unconfirmed across reports.
- Enforcement mechanics are untested. Verifying every inbound roamer through portals, SMS links, or border data is a heavy operational lift. How smooth the visitor experience will be is an open question.
- No penalties have been published. The reporting so far does not detail fines or sanctions for operators or aggregators that fall short.
Conclusion
Pakistan built one of the world’s stricter mobile identity regimes — biometric SIM verification, device registration through DIRBS, per-person connection limits — and foreign roaming has sat outside all of it. These draft regulations are PTA’s attempt to end that exception: identity checks for every roaming connection, a 90-day ceiling on permanent roaming, and registered travel eSIM providers. Whether the final rules balance security against the experience of legitimate visitors — the tourists, business travellers, and overseas Pakistanis who keep Pakistan connected to the world — will depend on what survives consultation.
