Car Hire in Pakistan for Overseas Visitors: What You Need (2026)

Flying home for a wedding, Eid or a family visit and want your own car? In Pakistan, “car hire” usually means a rent-a-car office, and many of them send a driver with the car. If you want to drive yourself, you can rent from a local owner on HireACar, by the day or for a few hours. Before you book, check two things: your ID and your licence.

1. Your ID: sign-up needs a Pakistani CNIC

Every renter signs up with a verified phone number and gives their CNIC number and a photo of the front of the card. Self-drive also needs a valid Pakistani driving licence. Owners may look at the original card at pickup, but may not keep it or any other original document. If you are an overseas Pakistani with a CNIC, you can sign up from abroad before you fly. If you hold a NICOP or only a foreign passport, email info@hireacar.pk first and we will tell you what is possible.

2. Your licence: bring an International Driving Permit

To drive a car yourself you need a valid driving licence. The law is stricter for licences issued abroad: Pakistan follows the 1968 Vienna Convention, the UK government lists the 1968 International Driving Permit for Pakistan, and Sindh traffic police have said foreign drivers need the IDP together with their own licence. Get the IDP before you travel (in the UK, from PayPoint shops) and carry both. If you have a Pakistani licence that is still valid, bring that instead.

What it costs

Booking sites price airport counters in dollars: in October 2026 Kayak showed an average of about $115 a day for an economy car at Islamabad airport. Local owners price in rupees. Self-drive cars on HireACar today:

Live prices with HireACar's fee included. The price shown includes HireACar’s fee; there is no booking fee on top. Fuel, tolls, parking and traffic fines during the trip are paid by the renter, and returning late costs extra. Any pickup or return delivery fee is shown before you send the request.

Bookings are paused for now while card and wallet payments are added. You can browse cars and prices today and book as soon as payments are live.

Picking up at the airport

Some owners will meet you at the airport; others hand the car over at their home or office in the city. Ask HireACar which cars can be collected at the airport before you book, put your flight number in the request, and allow for delays at immigration and baggage. At pickup, walk around the car with the owner, take photos of every side, and note the fuel level and the M-Tag balance.

Driving in Pakistan: what is different

• Traffic drives on the left, as in the UK. Most rental cars are automatic or manual Japanese and Korean models.
• Motorways (M-2 Lahore–Islamabad, M-3/M-4 towards Faisalabad and Multan, M-9 Karachi–Hyderabad) are fast and well kept. The limit for cars is 120 km/h and the Motorway Police enforce it. Tolls are paid with an M-Tag.
• City traffic is dense, with motorbikes, rickshaws and few lane markings. Drive defensively and avoid peak hours on Lahore's Canal Road and Karachi's Shahrah-e-Faisal.
• Avoid long drives on the GT Road at night. Fog closes motorways in parts of Punjab in December and January.
• For Murree, the Galiyat or the north, book an SUV and check the weather and road closures first.

Hire by the hour for errands

Visits home are full of short trips: a bank, a relative across town, an airport drop. Some cars can be booked by the hour, for 4 to 12 hours; an hourly booking never costs more than the day price. See how hourly rental works.

Before you pay

• Nobody may keep your original CNIC, licence or other documents, ask for a cheque, or ask for a guarantor. HireACar checks your identity instead. Report a host who asks.
• HireACar does not hold deposits. If an owner asks for a security deposit, the amount and how it is returned are agreed with the owner before pickup.
• Returning late: after 30 minutes of grace on hourly trips (1 hour on daily trips), each started hour is charged at the car’s hourly rate, up to one day’s price per day late.

HireACar is a marketplace. The car belongs to the host, and the rental is an agreement between you and the host. HireACar is not responsible for any loss, damage, theft, accident, fine or injury involving the car.