Call Pakistan from the UAE. No app on their end.
Voice calls on many internet apps are restricted in the UAE. Kalum doesn't rely on them — it dials the Pakistani number over the phone network, so a normal call lands on their handset.
Currently from 19¢ a minute to any Pakistani number.
Start with $4.99. No subscription. Credit never expires.
Messages send. The call won't.
If you have tried to ring Lahore or Peshawar from the Emirates, you know the shape of it. Texts arrive, voice notes arrive, the app shows everyone online — and the call itself never connects. Voice and video calling over many internet apps is restricted in the UAE, and the restriction lands on exactly that one feature.
Kalum takes a different route. It is not an app-to-app internet call at all: it uses your connection here to place a real telephone call to the Pakistani number, over the same international phone network a landline would use.
That changes who is reachable. Anyone with a working phone number qualifies — a parent on a basic handset, a landline in the village, a shop that will pass the phone along. There is nothing to install, nothing to sign up for, and no data connection needed at their end.
Dialing a Pakistani number
Pakistani mobiles are 10 digits starting with 3, written locally as 03…. Drop that leading 0 and dial +92 followed by the rest. Landlines take a city code — 21 for Karachi, 42 for Lahore, 51 for Islamabad — again with the leading zero removed.
The app shows the exact per-minute rate for the number you have entered before the call starts — currently from 19¢ a minute to Pakistan. Calls bill per minute with a one-minute minimum.
Indicative rates in USD, updated August 8, 2026. Rates vary by destination and can change, and mobile and landline numbers in the same country can price differently. The rate the Kalum app shows before you dial is the rate you pay (Terms §5.3). Calls are billed per minute, rounded up, with a one-minute minimum — Terms §5 has the full billing details.
Common questions
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Why won't my WhatsApp call to Pakistan connect from the UAE?
Voice and video calls over many internet apps are restricted in the UAE. Text messages and voice notes generally still send, so the app looks like it is working right up until the call fails. Which apps this affects can change over time.
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How does Kalum get through?
It isn't an app-to-app call. Kalum uses your connection in the UAE to dial the Pakistani number over the international phone network, so a normal incoming call arrives on their handset.
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Does the person in Pakistan need an app or internet?
No. Nothing at all on their end — no app, no account, no smartphone, no data. A basic phone or a landline receives the call exactly like any other.
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How do I dial a Pakistani number from the UAE?
Pakistani mobiles are 10 digits starting with 3, written locally as 03…. Drop the leading 0 and dial +92 followed by the rest of the number. Landlines use a city code such as 21 for Karachi or 42 for Lahore, also without the leading zero.
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What does it cost, and is there a subscription?
No subscription. You add prepaid credit from $4.99, see the exact per-minute rate in the app before you dial, and pay only for the minutes you use. Credit never expires.
Calling India, the Philippines or elsewhere? Calling abroad from the UAE →
One tap, and it rings in Pakistan.
Download Kalum, add $4.99 in credit, and dial any Pakistani landline or mobile. Pay only for the minutes you use.