Short answer: it depends on who you are. Pakistan runs two entirely separate doors. Non-resident Pakistanis get the modern one — the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) and its Roshan Equity Investment scheme, a digital-first flow built on NICOP/POC identity documents. Everyone else — the foreign non-Pakistani individual this registry serves — uses the older, heavier one: Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) via a Special Convertible Rupee Account (SCRA). If neither appeals, the London-listed GDRs of Pakistan’s blue-chips need no Pakistani account at all.
Route 1 — Roshan Digital Account (NRPs only)
If you hold a NICOP or Pakistan Origin Card, the RDA is the clean path: open it remotely with a participating bank, add a Roshan Equity Investment account, and trade PSX stocks, ETFs and government securities digitally. That’s the whole point of the scheme — but it is closed to foreign passport holders, so for non-Pakistanis it’s a dead end, whatever generic guides imply.
Route 2 — SCRA / FPI (everyone else)
The foreign-individual route is a four-relationship onboarding, in order:
- SCRA at an SBP-authorised bank (JS Bank has the clearest public documentation; Standard Chartered or Citibank Pakistan may help if you already bank with them internationally) — the repatriable rupee account all money moves through.
- PSX broker account — JS Global Capital is the profiled starting point; Alfalah CLSA and Topline are credible alternatives.
- CDC custody (Central Depository Company sub-account), normally arranged by the broker or custodian.
- NCCPL UIN — the clearing company’s investor ID.
Fund the SCRA by foreign remittance; sale proceeds and dividends flow back out through it, generally without prior central-bank approval. A Pakistan visit is not strictly required, but expect notarised/apostilled or consulate-attested documents and plan for 4–8 weeks. Full bank and broker tables are on the Pakistan country page.
The no-account shortcut: London GDRs
Several KSE-100 names carry Global Depositary Receipts on the LSE — Habib Bank (HBL), United Bank (UBL), MCB Bank and OGDC — buyable through any normal broker. Check liquidity first: the GDR lines are often thin. For a single foreign-listed proxy, VEON (Nasdaq) owns Jazz, Pakistan’s largest mobile operator. There is no Pakistan ETF since PAK was liquidated in February 2024.
Full detail
The Pakistan country page has the SCRA bank table, the broker list with an outreach script, what you can buy on the PSX, and all sources.
Last updated 5 July 2026. Researched against PSX foreign-investor documentation, SBP FE Manual materials and bank/broker pages; I have not opened a Pakistani account. Not investment advice — access mechanics only.