All smartphones imported to Pakistan need to be approved by PTA within 60 days, or else they stop working with local cellular networks. This means you have to pay import taxes for any smartphones brought to Pakistan, but this may no longer be the case, at least for some phones.
The good news comes directly from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) itself, which has just issued a briefing that smartphones will no longer be blocked if they are brought from overseas. The telecom authority has issued a request to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to exempt smartphones from import taxes, but there is a catch.
The change will only exempt one smartphone brought from overseas for personal use. Smartphones imported in bulk or for retail purposes, for instance, will still have to pay the regular import taxes for PTA approval. The change should help overseas Pakistanis avoid paying extra for phones they already bought.
It will also benefit foreigners that simply want to bring their smartphones to Pakistan for personal use. However, keep in mind that the final decision still lies with FBR and PTA has only requested the change for now. Hence, the development is yet to become official.
In any case, we will update this space as soon as there is more information.