Pakistan Travel Guide - Communications

Country code: 92.

Roaming agreements exist with some international mobile phone companies. Coverage is largely limited to main cities.

Internet is available in urban areas where Internet cafes can be found.

Airmail takes four to five days to reach Western Europe.

Post office hours: General post offices in major cities offer 24-hour services.

President Pervez Musharraf's rule has been marked by increased freedom for the print media and liberalisation of broadcasting policies; the state's monopoly has been diminished by the expansion of private radio and TV stations. In 2005, issued licences for private FM radio stations totalled around 100, but private stations are not allowed to broadcast news. Pakistani censorship, however, remains far more rigorous than in India. The Pakistani Government uses a range of legal and constitutional powers to curb press freedom. The country's law on blasphemy has been used against journalists. Nevertheless, Pakistan's print media are among the most outspoken in South Asia. Media rules were tightened in 2007 after an opposition campaign against President Musharraf.

• The English-language press enjoys a great deal of influence in business circles.
• Dailies include Business Recorder, The Dawn, Financial Post, Frontier Post, The Nation and The News (an English-language daily).
• Daily Jang and Daily Ausuf  are Urdu-language.

• Pakistan Television Corporation Ltd is a state TV broadcaster that operates PTV 1, PTV National, PTV Bolan and PTV World.
• Geo TV and Indus TV are popular satellite channels.
• Shalimar Television Network (STN) has both state-run and privately owned networks.
• ATV is a semi-private, terrestrial channel.

• Radio Pakistan is state-run and operates more than 20 stations nationwide, an external service and the FM 101 network, aimed at younger listeners.
• Azad Kashmir Radio is also state-run.
• FM 100 is a commercial, music-based FM network.