ISLAMABAD (Rizwan Abbasi): Pakistan’s dependence on imported mobile phones continued to rise during the current fiscal year, with mobile phone imports reaching Rs455.73 billion in the first 10 months of FY2025-26.
Official documents obtained by ABN show a significant increase in imports compared to the same period last year.
According to the documents, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth Rs455.73 billion from July 2025 to April 2026, compared to Rs349.77 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. This reflects an increase of 30.29 percent in mobile phone imports on a year-on-year basis.
The data further revealed that mobile phone imports recorded a 40.71 percent annual increase in April 2026. Pakistan imported mobile phones worth Rs35.12 billion in April 2025, while the figure surged to Rs49.41 billion in April 2026.
On a month-on-month basis, imports also witnessed a notable rise. In March 2026, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth Rs41.63 billion, which increased to Rs49.41 billion in April 2026, registering an 18.70 percent monthly growth.
Economic experts believe that the continued rise in mobile phone imports poses a major challenge for local mobile assembling and manufacturing policies. They warned that the growing import bill could further increase pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and widen the trade deficit.
