WikiProject Pakistan

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Welcome to OSM Pakistan!

OSM Pakistan is a community of OpenStreetMap (OSM) contributors, users, and supporters who come together to help grow and improve OpenStreetMap—especially for Pakistan. With limited representation of mapping communities in the country, our aim is to support all mappers in Pakistan and promote the growth and accuracy of the map across regions.

We are an open, inclusive, and welcoming group committed to sharing knowledge about OpenStreetMap and connecting with others who are interested in open data and collaborative mapping. This Wiki serves as a space to explore OSM-related resources, tools, and community stories from across Pakistan.

Whether you're just getting started or already passionate about mapping, we hope you find inspiration and useful information here. We’d love for you to be part of the OpenStreetMap family—and join the growing OSM Pakistan community!

About OpenStreetMap

What is OpenStreetMap?

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a global, community-driven project where anyone—individuals or organizations—can contribute to a free, editable map of the world. With rich local insights and an impressive level of detail that continues to grow every day, OSM goes beyond just being a map. When treated as a geographic database, it becomes a powerful tool with endless possibilities.

Built and used by everyone

Imagine a map created from the collective knowledge of thousands of contributors. That’s exactly what OpenStreetMap offers. It’s a dynamic, ever-evolving map shaped by a wide range of voices—from local individuals adding neighborhood details, to public and private organizations sharing data gathered through their daily work. And it’s not just about contributing—these same groups rely on OSM’s data for countless applications: online and print maps, mobile apps, research, disaster response, sustainable development, navigation, education, conservation, and much more.

Truly open and unrestricted

Unlike many maps labeled as “free,” OSM doesn’t come with legal or technical strings attached. You’re free to copy, share, adapt, and build upon the data with minimal hassle. There are no ads and no paywalls—just a map created by people, for people. With a global network of contributors keeping it current, OpenStreetMap shows what’s really on the ground—not just what’s been paid to appear. In places like Pakistan, where official data may be unavailable or commercial providers show little interest, OSM often becomes the most accurate and accessible source of geographic information.

Adapted from osmuk.org

Usability of OpenStreetMap for Improving Quality of Life

OpenStreetMap’s open and adaptable nature makes it a valuable tool for enhancing quality of life across communities. By providing accurate, up-to-date geographic data that anyone can access and improve, OSM empowers individuals, governments, and organizations to make informed decisions and take meaningful action.

For communities, OSM helps identify essential services—such as schools, hospitals, clean water sources, and roads—supporting better urban planning and infrastructure development. In underserved or remote areas, it can fill gaps left by outdated or unavailable official maps, enabling local initiatives to thrive.

During emergencies and natural disasters, humanitarian organizations use OSM to map affected areas in real time, helping coordinate rescue efforts and deliver aid efficiently. This has been crucial in crisis zones where traditional maps fall short.

For individuals, OSM powers navigation tools, cycling and hiking apps, and accessibility-focused applications—making daily life easier, more connected, and more inclusive.

In sustainable development, OSM supports environmental monitoring, conservation efforts, and the planning of public transport and green spaces, contributing to healthier, more livable communities.

In essence, OpenStreetMap transforms geographic data into a shared public resource that drives innovation, supports resilience, and improves lives—locally and globally.

You can help!

There are many things you can do to help the map of Pakistan. Make sure to refer to the tagging guidelines below as well.

  • Many roads missing on the outskirts of Karachi, in rural areas, and in Hyderabad.
  • Many roads are missing in Karachi, Sukkur, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta.
  • Hyderabad and Kohat are in better shape but still missing some roads.

Tagging Features

Highway

Roads should be tagged in accordance with their official classification or their significance. We can further refine this tagging scheme with active participation from OSM Pakistan users.

Key Value Element Comment Example
highway motorway  way This tag should be applied to the carriageways of all designated motorways (M1-M10). Do not tag highways as motorways which have not be designated as such by NHA, Pakistan.
highway motorway_link way The link roads (sliproads / ramps) leading to and from a motorway (or between two motorways). Only use this on slip roads to which motorway regulations apply (the "last escape" slip road before a road becomes motorway is not a motorway_link and should be tagged as a trunk_link or primary_link as appropriate to the non-motorway road it diverges from)
highway trunk  way All National Highways built, maintained and designated as National Highways by NHA, Pakistan.
highway trunk_link way The link roads (sliproads / ramps) leading to and from a National Highway.
highway primary  way A 6 or more lanes dual carriageway. Important or major highways in a city can also be tagged as primary.
highway primary_link way The link roads (sliproads / ramps).  
highway secondary  way Regional highways mostly maintained by the Provincial Governments connecting cities, towns or villages.
highway tertiary  way 4 lanes dual carriageway roads in a city or high importance roads.
highway unclassified  way No administrative classification. Unclassified roads typically form the lowest form of the interconnecting grid network.
Note: This is not a marker for roads where we still need to choose a highway tag.
highway residential way Roads accessing or around residential areas and which are not primary, secondary or tertiary.
highway track way unmaintained and non-asphalt tracks
highway service way A roadway providing connections to off-road destinations (such as car parks) or servicing private sites (such as industrial estates). Tagging a road as "service" indicates that the roadway should not be considered a through route nor expected to be of high quality. Pending a recognised tag for roads under construction, "service" may also be an appropriate tag for this purpose.

Addtional Highway Data

Service Roads:

Service roads should be tagged according to the guidelines in the table above. However, it's important to note a specific case in Pakistan. Some city development authorities name internal roads within sectors as "service road north," "service road south," and so on. While named "service road," these roads functionally serve as unclassified or tertiary roads according to the highway classification scheme. This naming convention can cause confusion for mappers unfamiliar with the local context. Be aware that similar situations might exist in other Pakistani cities.

Motorways

Tag as "motorway", typically rendered in blue.

Road Route Length (km) Details (Status)
M-1 Islamabad to Peshawar 155 Access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes
M-2 Lahore to Islamabad 367 Access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes

(Completed November 26, 1997)

M-3 Lahore - Abdul Hakeem 230 Access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes
M-4 Multan - Pindi Bhattian 294 Operational 4 lanes, which, in future can be increased to 6 lanes.
M-5 Sukkur - Multan 392 Access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes completed on 5 November 2019
M-6 Hyderabad - Sukkur 306 Under-contruction (in January 2023) six lane access-controlled motorway.
M-7 Kakkar via Dureji to Karachi 303 Proposed 2 lanes.

(Planned)

M-8 Gwadar - Ratodero 892 Two lanes highway, completed
M-9 Karachi - Hyderabad 136 Access-controlled 6 lanes motorway.
M-10 Karachi Northern Bypass 56 Access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes.

(Completed 2007, restoration is in progress after bridge collapsed in 2007)

M-11 Lahore to Sialkot 103 4 lanes Operational since 18 March 2020
M-12 Sialkot to Kharian 69 Under-construction 6 lane since 22 July 2022
M-14 Hakla - Dera Ismail Khan 285 4 lane access controlled motorway completed on 5 January 2022
M-15 or E-35 Hazara Motorway

Expressway 35

175 57km six lane access-controlled motorway from Burhan to Havelian

39km four lane access-controlled motorway from Havelian to Manshera 84km 2 lane partial access-controlled expressway from Manshera to Thakot

M-16 Swat Motorway 81 Operational 4 lane access controlled motorway

National Highways

Tag as "trunk", typically rendered in green.

Reference Name Route Length (km)
N5 National Highway 5 (Grand Trunk Road) Hyderabad-Moro-Multan-Sahiwal-Lahore-Jhelum-Rawalpindi-Peshawar-Torkham relation 1136962 1819
N10 Makran Coastal Highway Lyari-Gwadar-Gabd 653
N15 Mansehra-Naran-Jhalkhand 240
N25 RCD Highway Karachi-Bela-Khuzdar-Kalat-Quetta-Chaman 813
N39 Basima-Khuzdar 110
N35 Karakoram Highway (KKH) Hasan Abdal-Abbottabad-Thakot-Gilgit-Khunjerab 806
N40 Lakpass-Naukundi-Taftan 610
N45 Dir-Chitral 309
N50 Kuchlack-Zhob-Dera Ismail Khan 531
N55 Indus Highway Kotri-Shikarpur-Dera Ghazi Khan-Kohat-Peshawar 1264
N65 Sukkur-Sibi-Saryab 385
N70 Qila Saifullah-Loralai-Dera Ghazi Khan-Multan 447
N75 Murree Expressway Islamabad-Satra Mile-Lower Topa (Murree)-Kohala 90
N80 Tarnol-Kohat 144
N85 Hoshab-Pangjur-Nag-Basima-Surab 487
N90 Kwazakhela-Alpuri-Besham 64
N95 Chakdara-Mingora-Manglour-Kwazakhela-Madyan-Bahrain-Kalam 135
S1 Gilgit-Skardu 167
S2 Kohala-Muzaffarabad 40
S3 Muzaffarabad-Chakothi 55
E3 Wazirabad-Pindi Bhattian 100
E4 Faisalabad-Khanewal 184
E5 Khanewal-Lodhran Section 100

Administrative units of Pakistan

The administrative units of Pakistan consist of four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh), two autonomous territories (Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan) and one federal territory (Islamabad Capital Territory). Each province and territory is subdivided into divisions, which are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into tehsils, or taluka, which are further subdivided into union councils.

province / territory (tagged with admin_level 3)
division (tagged with admin_level 4)
district (tagged with admin_level 5)
tehsil / taluka (tagged with admin_level 6)
union council

Largest Cities

Infrastructure Mapping

You can help in completing our infrastructure for Power Lines (major cross-city high voltage towers for now) by looking at Osmose to find missing attributes or incomplete dataset.

You can also use Overpass Turbo to visualize all the power lines to see existing power lines.


Other useful resources:

Addresses in Pakistan

Addresses in Pakistan can be quite variable in their format, and it may not be easy to find a distinct address for many features. Pakistan is a predominantly rural country, and deliveries to small villages may not necessarily require an address to a specific building if the person taking an item to its destination knows where to find the intended recipient, or who to ask if not. Locations in urban centers are more likely to have specific assigned addresses, and can include any number of specifiers to narrow down a location.

See the Universal Postal Union document on the Pakistani addressing standard as a reference point for what may be included in an address where available.

The primary postal operator in Pakistan is Pakistan Post. You can find a listing of post offices and post codes on their website here: [1]. Major hub post offices in this listing are suffixed with "GPO" (General Post Office), and smaller post offices are each assigned to a hub.

Pakistan is divided into provinces and districts. The province can be tagged with addr:province=*, but it is not necessary if the district (addr:district=*, city, and/or postcode is specified. "Distt." is a common abbreviation for district in Pakistani addresses, though if tagged in OSM it should be unabbreviated as is convention. Districts are further divided into tehsils, which are in turn divided into union councils, but these are typically not included. addr:place=* may be necessary for addresses which involve a place name rather than a street name, or addr:full=* for addresses which are challenging to describe with the existing address tagging scheme. Addresses in larger cities such as Islamabad can be quite elaborate, and may include features such as a block number, which can be tagged with addr:block=*, or a sector number, which as of the time of writing (May 2022) does not have a single/standard tagging scheme. At the moment, the most common places sectors have been included in addresses in OSM are in addr:place=*, which is technically not correct as "places" are intended to be mutually exclusive to street names and sectors are typically supplemental to them, or included at the end of the street name itself. addr:sector=* (undocumented) has been used 3 times in Pakistan, but has been used in Guatemala ~2000 times. It is likely addr:sector=* is the clearest way to tag the sector number to avoid conflation with tags intended for other purposes, but feel free to contribute to the discussion on the talk page at Talk:Addresses#Addresses_with_sector_numbers if you have thoughts on how to approach these.

Water Body Mapping

Pakistan is a severely water-scarce country and suffers from frequent droughts, flooding and more. Mapping existing rivers, streams and canals will allow better research into efficient water management.

People Involved

If you are contributing to OSM Pakistan please do create an account on this wiki.

See Category:Users in Pakistan

Disaster response

There have been a number of disasters in Pakistan for which HOT and OpenStreetMappers in general have responded by helping to produce/improve maps with the potential to provide useful maps to aid agencies. Disasters include

Quality controls

See also