Before you start

Passport with a valid Pakistani visa, or CNIC/NICOP/POC
A visit to an operator's own service centre
An unlocked handset
A Multan address for fixed broadband

Step-by-step

1
Go to an operator's own service centre, not a franchise
Foreign passport registration uses a different NADRA verification path from the CNIC route, and small outlets are often not enabled for it. Jazz, Zong, Telenor and Ufone all run proper service centres on Abdali Road and along Bosan Road.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Expect biometric capture at the counter
Fingerprints are taken and matched against NADRA before activation, including for foreign passport holders through NADRA's foreigner verification system. There is no anonymous prepaid market anywhere in Pakistan.
In personWho: You
3
Confirm how many SIMs you are permitted
PTA's framework allows Pakistani CNIC holders a substantial number of SIMs across operators; foreign nationals are limited far more tightly, commonly reported at around two in total. Do not assume separate work, personal and data lines are possible.
In personWho: You
4
Ask which fibre provider has wired the specific building
Coverage in Multan is building-by-building and follows the northern corridor. Gulgasht and Bosan Road are reasonably served; the old city and the southern edges are not. Get a named provider from the landlord and confirm a free port with the provider before signing, and make it a lease condition if your income depends on it.
OnlineWho: YouBefore signing a lease
5
Buy data generously — it costs very little
Pakistani mobile data pricing is among the lowest anywhere. For a lot of Multan residents the phone is the primary connection and the fibre is the backup rather than the other way round, which is a reasonable way to set it up here.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Fit a UPS on the router and plan for the summer load
MEPCO load shedding varies by feeder and peaks exactly when demand does — through the hottest part of a 45°C afternoon. A battery-backed router and a charged phone hotspot are standard home-office equipment here rather than a contingency plan, and size the battery for a summer outage rather than a winter one.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with valid visa, or CNIC/NICOP/POC
Proof of a Multan address, for fixed broadband
Fingerprints, taken at the counter

Things most newcomers don’t know

Foreign nationals get a fraction of a citizen's SIM allowance.

PTA's subscriber registration framework treats foreign passport holders separately from CNIC holders, with a much lower ceiling — commonly reported at around two SIMs in total against a substantially higher figure for citizens. Anyone planning separate lines for work, personal use and a data device runs into it immediately. PTA revises these regulations, so confirm the current number at an operator's service centre rather than relying on a published figure.

Source: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

Broadband in Multan follows the Metrobus corridor more closely than it follows the map.

Fibre build-out has concentrated along the northern spine — Gulgasht, Bosan Road, the university and hospital belt — which is the same axis the Metrobus runs on. The old city and the southern and eastern edges are materially worse served. That correlation is useful: if you are choosing an address for the transit link you are probably also choosing it for the connection, and the two constraints point the same way.

Source: community-reported

Size the router battery for a summer afternoon, not a winter evening.

MEPCO's load shedding tracks demand, and demand in Multan peaks through the afternoon of a 45°C day — precisely the hours a home worker most needs both the router and the air conditioning. A UPS chosen for a short evening outage will not cover it. This is a small piece of local knowledge that saves a bad first summer.

Source: community-reported

There is no anonymous prepaid SIM in Pakistan.

Every SIM is biometrically bound at activation to an identity document, matched against NADRA in real time. Buying a pre-activated SIM from a stall — normal practice elsewhere in the region — means using a number registered to a stranger, which is unlawful and a real problem if anything happens on that line. The five-minute biometric at a service centre is the only correct route.

Source: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority