How prevailant is the use of voicemail (answering machine) in Pakistan? Do most people with cellphones (mobilephones) have voicemail service or is it an extra charge and many people don’t have it?
Over the last few weeks we had to call various people in Pakistan for something important and some had given us the cellphone numbers. If they didn’t pick up, it rang and rang and no voicemail. Itna waqt zaaya 
Faisal bhai I think you can pay extra for voicemail for some cell phone service provider companies. I personally don't have it.
As for voicemail on land lines, its not the norm yet, but is present in some, very few, places.
As Irem said , you have to pay extra!
Other thing,send them a text message before you call them or something or just drop a text message. But you have to know what service they use.
www.smspk.com
hahahhaa, i can't even imagine having a voice mail at home in Pakistan. people will call and leave messages without knowing that its being recorded:
"hello, hello, abay bol naa, baat kar, helloo, hellooooo, pata nahi kia howa, bol hee nahi raha, kehta hay hum ghar pe nahi hayn.... jhoota, to phone kis ne uthaya thaa??"
"........ (long pause) missed your call? kia matlab? phone to utha liye phir kehta hay missed ur call?, ajeeb insaan hay!!"
sorry about that Faisal, but couldn’t help 
Huh! Are you suggesting that people in Pakistan are idiots?!?!? 
captain 
is this coming from personal experience?
Being the administrator of the biggest PAKISTANI BB , its funny u ask…
I installed an answering machine for my mum in Lahore (in 1996) and we left the house ... when we returned. First message was
1) Haa ha-ay, pata nahee kee payya kehnda ay, ... way Najim, chup kyon kar gayya ain? eh kee kehya eee? (Then my cousin take the receiver from my khala) ... hello Najim bhaee ... ammi koee nahee bole raha. Line disconnected
2) hello Najim bhai, yeh aap kia keh rahay hain message message, kaun sa message .... ammi awaz to Najim bhee kee hee hay, pata nahee in kee line ko kia ho gayya hay .... long pause then my aunty comes on the phone .... Najim hun teree umar mazaaq walee naee, chuk lay phone. long pause & line disconnected.
3) Hello baji (my uncle), eh tay Khurram (my younger bro) dee awaz naee lagdee, kain payya bolda ay? Pata naee kee ho rayaa ay, yaar koee bolo wee hun. Disconnected.
4) Fair oho-ee "galbad galbad" ... lag-da baji day telephone ich kisay naa taar paee hoee ay. Main khurram da mobile try karna waan. Line disconnected.
5) Hello Najim, its Haseeb (my friend calling from London), yaar u shouldn't put an answerphone on a pakistani line, it will make the people go crazy, anyway, give me a ring when u are back.
6) way Najim, toon kadoon aayaan Londano ... leh do lafaz bole keh chup kar gayya ay. Way, tenu meray koloon sharam aanday?? phuphi aan teri (phupho was appalled that I am not speaking) ... last sentence main karnee ***** (my mum's name) naal gall, teray kan tay khichay zara. Long pause and line disconnected.
When we came back my mum returned the calls and we had a good laugh but then she immediately ordered, remove this freaking answering machine. So its still packed in a cupboard in Lahore.
Dont know if there is any change in last eight years.
^
^ lol at Najim's post. I went through a similar experience a few years back. It wasn't worth the torture.
Thats so true
We end up having the craziest comments on our answering machine despite of a understable msg in the beginning saying Plz record yr msg after the Beep! 
Faisal: Ppl with Mobilink or 0300 lines do have voice mail service now.
unless they forget to dial in n chk :-\
Najim
Faisal: On land lines..it is not a norm as yet. on cell phones, only ppl with postpaid connections (unlike prepaid cards) have access to a voicemail box.
Mobilink Jazz had some issues with voice mail two years back, alot of people ended up disabling it, and then never activated it. Ufone's voice mail worked pretty nice, atleast uptil 2002.
Najam that was hilarious!!!
I think having answering machines in Pakistan in kindda dangerous...because what if someone crazy calls and they figure out your not home...then they like rob the house or something???
In my opinion, Pakistan is going just fine without it...
but hey, if you need some good laughs....:)
Re: Pakistani awaam and voicemail
@Najam , it even happens when someone calls from Pakistan and we are not home .
Like father calling from Pakistan and leaving a message like this.
O soor day puttara, meray naal vee mazaq karda a, phone chuk kay kahnda , I am not home , mutbal key a tera, main uthay honda tay tery kut landa.
LOL!
Yeah, your right...i remember now, this has happened to me 2...
Like one of my dad's work/college friends from the "gouwn" (seriously have no idea how to spell it...like the poorer and less advanced cities of Pakistan) areas called and they were saying stuff like that! (Hellooo, Hellooooo, hellooo, bhai balooo nah!....)
:D
LOL!..haha!..thats exactly what happened when my cousin phoned from pakistan..but she was calling from village actually..so maybe thats y she didnt know about voicemail..