Apple has appointed Salman Dar as Head of Government Affairs Pakistan, a new position that will see him lead the company’s government affairs function in the country, supporting Apple’s engagement with regulators, policymakers, and other key stakeholders. The appointment comes at a moment when Apple’s presence in Pakistan is under closer scrutiny than usual, with the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication recently pressing officials on efforts to bring the company into local manufacturing, and reports emerging that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif may meet Apple CEO John Ternus during an upcoming visit to the United States. Dar’s role gives Apple a dedicated point of contact for navigating exactly the kind of government engagement that these developments are expected to require in the coming months.
Dar brings more than three decades of technology and entrepreneurship experience across Europe, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to the role, having co-founded ITROOS in 2014 and served as its CEO from 2017 until stepping down in August 2026, shortly before joining Apple. He has also been an active figure within Pakistan’s IT industry advocacy circles, serving as a member of the Pakistan Software Houses Association’s (PASHA) Central Executive Committee and sitting on several of its sub-committees covering policy and government relations, governance, HR, and the Special Technology Zones Authority. In a recent post marking the end of his PASHA tenure, Dar credited the association’s advocacy work with helping secure an extension of the 0.25 percent Final Tax Regime for IT exporters until June 2029, a reduction in the international transaction tax on credit and debit cards from 5 percent to 0.5 percent, and steps by the State Bank of Pakistan to simplify processes for IT exporters retaining and utilising export proceeds.
Apple currently operates in Pakistan through a retail and service presence, including its recently established Apple store, but has no local manufacturing or assembly footprint, a gap officials have repeatedly flagged given that other major international smartphone brands already produce phones domestically through Pakistan’s growing base of 37 mobile manufacturing companies. Engineering Development Board (EDB) CEO Hammad Mansoor told the National Assembly committee that Apple is the only major smartphone company that does not currently manufacture phones in Pakistan, and that the government has been actively working to attract the company toward establishing manufacturing or assembly operations locally. A dedicated government affairs lead with Dar’s policy background and industry relationships would give Apple a more direct and sustained channel for these kinds of discussions, rather than relying solely on periodic high level visits or externally based executives to manage the relationship with Pakistani regulators and ministries.
Dar’s appointment adds to a broader pattern of increased engagement between Apple and Pakistani institutions over the past year, following the opening of the company’s first authorized retail presence in the country and the growing public discussion around bringing the tech giant into local manufacturing. Government affairs roles at major technology companies typically involve managing relationships with regulatory bodies and representing the company’s interests during legislative or regulatory processes, spanning areas from import duties and taxation on devices, an issue already under active discussion given the government’s recent move to allow instalment payments on PTA taxes for imported phones, to broader conversations about manufacturing incentives and data protection regulations. Whether this dedicated role translates into faster movement on the kind of manufacturing entry officials have been pushing for will likely depend on how Apple’s broader global strategy weighs Pakistan against other manufacturing destinations, though having a local point of contact with Dar’s policy experience removes one structural barrier that has previously made sustained engagement between the company and Pakistani officials more difficult to coordinate.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
