Government Steps Up Push to Bring Apple Manufacturing to Pakistan, EDB Confirms

The government has intensified efforts to bring Apple into Pakistan’s mobile phone manufacturing sector, with officials confirming that negotiations with the company are already underway.

The matter came up during a session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, where committee members questioned why Apple remains absent from a local manufacturing base that already hosts nearly every other major smartphone brand.

EDB Confirms Active Negotiations

Engineering Development Board CEO Hammad Mansoor told the committee that talks aimed at bringing Apple to Pakistan are ongoing. He added that officials are also working to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Apple CEO John Ternus during the premier’s upcoming visit to the United States.

Ternus took over as Apple’s chief executive on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook, who moved into the role of executive chairman after fifteen years leading the company. A meeting with Ternus, rather than Cook, would mark Islamabad’s first direct engagement with Apple’s new leadership on the manufacturing question.

Mansoor said Apple has already established a retail store in Pakistan and expressed optimism that manufacturing operations would follow. He did not offer a timeline for when that transition might happen.

Where Pakistan’s Manufacturing Sector Stands

The committee was told that 37 companies currently manufacture mobile phones in Pakistan, producing more than 35 million handsets locally to date. Officials noted that apart from Apple, nearly all major global smartphone brands now run production or assembly operations inside the country.

That context matters. Pakistan’s local assembly industry has expanded rapidly since 2020, growing from negligible volumes to tens of millions of units annually, largely on the back of incentive-driven policies designed to reduce fully-built-unit imports. Apple’s absence from that list has become increasingly conspicuous as competitors from Samsung to Chinese brands have all localized production to some degree.

The committee directed the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to present detailed information on Apple’s potential entry at the next session and instructed both bodies to continue pursuing the company.

This Isn’t the First Attempt

Government officials floated a similar plan earlier this year. In February, the EDB detailed a proposed Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Framework built specifically around incentives Apple had requested, including discounted land and permission to refurbish two- to three-year-old iPhones for re-export before moving into full manufacturing, a phased approach the company has previously used to enter Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. That framework also raised the performance incentive for manufacturers from 6% to 8% and projected $100 million in first-year re-export revenue from refurbished devices.

Seven months later, the government is still describing the relationship as “negotiations underway” rather than announcing a signed agreement or a confirmed manufacturing start date. That gap between stated intent and concrete commitment is worth noting for readers tracking this story, since it suggests Apple has not yet treated Pakistan’s incentive package as sufficient to commit capital, even after the February proposal.

Installment Payments on Import Taxes Also on the Table

Separately, the committee discussed the possibility of allowing consumers to pay taxes and duties on imported mobile phones in installments rather than as a lump sum at the point of purchase. A PTA representative clarified that the authority has no role in setting mobile phone tax structures or designing an installment mechanism, since all matters related to mobile phone taxation fall under the Federal Board of Revenue’s jurisdiction.

That distinction matters for consumers who have previously directed complaints about high import duties toward PTA. Any installment plan, if it materializes, would need to be designed and implemented by FBR, not the telecom regulator.

What This Means for Buyers

For Pakistani consumers, an Apple manufacturing presence would likely follow the same pattern the company has used elsewhere in the region: refurbishment and repair operations first, aimed at training local technicians, followed by assembly of older iPhone models before any current-generation device sees local production. Even under an optimistic timeline, that process would take years rather than months, and it would not immediately affect the price of new iPhones sold in Pakistan, which remain subject to import duties regardless of where negotiations currently stand.

The more immediate, tangible outcome for buyers may end up being the discussed installment mechanism for import taxes, assuming FBR moves on it, since that would directly affect affordability for anyone purchasing an iPhone today rather than in a hypothetical manufacturing future.

The Bigger Picture

Government officials have talked about attracting Apple to Pakistan in some form since at least February, framing it around incentive packages, high-level meetings, and now a fresh committee push. What hasn’t changed across those months is the absence of a signed deal or public commitment from Apple itself confirming these talks match the government’s characterization of them.

That’s not unusual; companies routinely explore markets quietly before committing, and Apple’s phased entry into Indonesia, Malaysia, and India followed years of groundwork before manufacturing began. But it does mean readers should treat this development as a confirmation that talks are continuing, not as a signal that Apple has decided to manufacture in Pakistan. The Shehbaz Sharif–Ternus meeting, if it happens, will be a better indicator of where things actually stand than another committee briefing repeating the same language used in February.