Karachi eSIM
In Karachi you connect to Jazz or Zong, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 25 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Jazz and Zong
- Typical speed in Pakistan
- 25 Mbps typical, 6 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Karachi
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $3.30 | $9.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.78 | $13.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $2.09 | $20.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.74 | $34.89 |
How Pakistan compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Jazz, Zong
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Laos, 26 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Myanmar, 22 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 3: Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad
Landing at Jinnah International Airport (KHI)
- Airport
- KHI / OPKC
Getting into Karachi
- Karachi Cantonment railway station, the nearest mainline station, with a commuter rail halt about 2 km from the terminal (KHI)
- Buses and minibuses via Shahrah-e-Faisal (KHI)
- Taxis and auto-rickshaws (KHI)
Worth knowing about Karachi
- Karachi has bus rapid transit rather than a rail metro: the 26 km Green Line opened in December 2021 and the short 3.9 km Orange Line in September 2022.
- Neither of Karachi's operating BRT lines serves Jinnah International Airport.
- The airport's nearest mainline station is Karachi Cantonment, with a commuter rail halt about 2 km southwest of the terminal.
- Zong says a foreign visitor must visit a Zong Customer Service Centre with an original valid passport and a valid visa or Pakistan Origin Card. The SIM is issued after a signature, thumb impression and scanned copies are taken.
- Zong states that a maximum of 2 SIMs can be issued to an individual and that SIM validity corresponds to the validity of the visa or Pakistan Origin Card.
- The PTA guidelines Zong publishes require the seller to scan the customer's thumb or finger on a designated biometric scanner and send the impression to the mobile company, so a SIM cannot be bought remotely.
- Zong's device registration process for foreigners records passport information, the visa or Pakistan Origin Card, the FIA entry stamp and a customer signed CSAF form.
- Zong states that a handset not registered with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority will cease to operate, and that the user has 18 days to get it registered through the PTA Device Registration System.
- The PTA device registration form Zong links to has a user type for a foreigner who travelled on a visa, and states total registration allowances of 5 mobile devices per CNIC per year.
- The Federal Board of Revenue describes DIRBS, the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System, as designed to identify non-compliant devices operating on local mobile networks. It launched on 1 December 2018.
- The Green Line bus rapid transit route runs between Surjani Town in the north and Numaish Chowrangi in the south, with 22 stations, and opened on 25 December 2021.
- The Sindh Mass Transit Authority lists People's Bus Service routes across Karachi, including Route 4 from North Karachi to Kemari at 26 km and Route 12 from Memon Goth to Sadar Lucky Star at 36 km.
- The Sindh Mass Transit Authority also lists five electric bus routes in Karachi, the longest being EV-4 from Bahria Town to Ayesha Manzil at 58 km, plus a double decker route from Model Colony to Tower.
- The Sindh Mass Transit Authority says the Red Line BRT is operated by TransKarachi with a fleet of electric buses, while the Green Line uses hybrid and low emission buses.
- Pakistan's international submarine cables come ashore at Karachi. Transworld Associates operates a Karachi landing station carrying TW1, SEA-ME-WE 5 and 2Africa, with further landings at Hawksbay beach and Clifton beach.
- Port Qasim Authority, established by an Act of parliament on 29 June 1973 and sited 28 miles south east of Karachi, says it holds more than 52 percent of the country's imports and exports.
- The Karachi Circular Railway is a 43.24 km loop with 24 stations. It opened in 1964 and was shut down in 1999.
- The six lane M-9 motorway runs 136 km from Karachi to Hyderabad, with a completed section inaugurated in February 2017.
- Jinnah International Airport sits near Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Malir and is reached via Shahrah-e-Faisal. It handled 6,711,131 passengers between July 2024 and June 2025.