Halal Trading Apps in Pakistan (2026): Which Brokers Fit a Shariah Investor

There is exactly one brokerage in Pakistan that lets you trade only Shariah-compliant stocks by design: ZLK Islamic Financial Services, a subsidiary of Zahid Latif Khan Securities, which calls itself the country's first Shariah-compliant brokerage and publishes its list of permitted symbols. Every other app, including KTrade, JS Global, AKD and Arif Habib, gives you the whole Pakistan Stock Exchange and leaves the screening to you via the KMI-30 or PSX-KMI All Share lists. KTrade is the only mainstream app whose commission we could read on its site. This comparison covers the apps, CDC and PSX costs, screening inside each, and the margin features to leave off. Start with our halal stocks hub if the terms are new.

What makes a trading app halal or not

The app itself is a channel; what matters is what it lets you buy and how it lets you pay. A halal setup needs three things. First, you buy shares of companies that pass a Shariah screen, which in Pakistan means the constituents of the KMI-30 or the broader PSX-KMI All Share Index, both maintained by the PSX with Meezan Bank's screening methodology, or a list vetted by a broker's own Shariah adviser. Second, you pay in full from your own cash, so no margin financing, margin trading system, securities lending or futures rollover, all of which involve interest or impermissible contracts. Third, your custody and settlement run through the CDC and NCCPL at published fees, which are service charges rather than interest.

The PSX makes the first point easy because a ready-made account exists for the second. The Sahulat Account, opened with a simplified form and a CNIC copy, restricts the holder to the Regular Delivery Contract (ready) market, caps purchase positions at Rs 3,000,000 per brokerage account, and blocks margin trading system, margin financing, stock lending and borrowing and the negotiated deals market by rule. One Sahulat account per broker is allowed, it can be converted to a normal account later, and most brokers offer it online. For a first-time halal investor, a Sahulat account at any broker removes most of the haram features before you see them. Our step-by-step on how to buy halal stocks on the PSX walks through the opening process.

The apps compared

The table records only what each firm publishes on its own site. Where a commission is not shown, that is because the broker discloses it in the account opening form or on request, not because it is free. Commission figures exclude the 15% Sindh sales tax on brokerage, CDC charges, NCCPL charges and capital gains tax, all of which the brokers pass through at actual.

ZLK Islamic was established in Islamabad on 24 Ramadan 1445 and trades through a subsidiary of a brokerage founded in 1999. Its site lists Meezan Bank Limited and Usmani & Co. Shariah Advisors as its Shariah advisers, publishes a Shariah-compliant stock list by symbol, and offers an Islamic Sahulat Account that needs only bank account details, a mobile number and a CNIC. It also describes Ijarah sukuk sales and portfolio management. What it does not publish is a tariff, so ask for the commission schedule in writing before you fund the account. Our ZLK Islamic provider page treats the firm as proof that SECP will license a fully Shariah-compliant brokerage, more than as a verdict on its service.

KTrade, the app of Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Securities, is the only mainstream broker here with a readable price list. Its Classic plan charges Rs 0.03 per share for shares priced at Rs 20 or below and 0.15% of traded value above Rs 20; its commission PDF states the rule as 3 paisa or 0.15%, whichever is higher, applied on both delivery and day trades, with day trades charged on one side only. Premier charges Rs 0.03 up to Rs 1.99, Rs 0.05 from Rs 2.00 to Rs 19.99 and 0.25% from Rs 20; Premier-I charges 0.20% from Rs 25. The PDF also discloses futures rollover charges, which a halal investor should never incur. The site's feature table lists Shariah stocks trading as a real-account feature, which in practice means a filter rather than a restriction.

CDC sub-account versus Investor Account Service, and what CDC charges

Every share you buy is held in book-entry form at the Central Depository Company. By default your broker opens a CDC sub-account under its own participant account, and the broker is your point of contact for custody. The alternative is an Investor Account Service (IAS) account directly with CDC, which the broker then delivers shares into; it adds a layer of protection because the broker cannot move your shares without your instruction. The CDS schedule of fees updated in August 2026 shows the sub-account opening fee as waived for normal accounts and nil for Sahulat accounts and for investors who already hold an IAS account, so the depository itself costs a sub-account holder nothing to open.

The IAS schedule of fees, also updated August 2026, is the one to read if you want direct custody. The annual fee is Rs 338 for individuals, waived in the first year, and Rs 1,800 for non-individuals. The transaction fee on shares is 0.0036% of market value per transaction, charged on both delivery and receipt, with a minimum of Rs 5 and a maximum of Rs 25,000. The custody fee on shares is 0.005625% a year of market value, calculated daily. Withdrawal of shares into physical form costs Re 0.10 per share and a paper statement Rs 100. These are flat service fees for safekeeping and transfers, which is why scholars treat them as permissible ujrah rather than interest. All are exclusive of government taxes.

• Choose a broker sub-account if you want the simplest setup and trade through one broker; CDC's own sub-account fee is now nil or waived.
• Open a CDC IAS account if you hold shares for years or want them insulated from the broker; the Rs 338 annual fee is waived in year one and custody costs 0.005625% a year.
• Expect brokers to pass CDC and NCCPL charges through at actual on top of commission; KTrade's PDF says so explicitly.
• Keep every CDC statement, because dividend purification and zakat both need your holding dates and quantities.

How to screen: KMI-30, the All Share Islamic Index and where each app shows them

The PSX publishes four Islamic indices on its indices page. The KMI-30 tracks the 30 most liquid Shariah-compliant companies, weighted by float-adjusted market capitalisation with a 12% cap per company. The PSX-KMI All Share Index comprises every Shariah-compliant company listed on the exchange, developed by the PSX with Meezan Bank. The MZNP Index tracks the top 12 companies from the KMI-30 by average traded value and free float, and the Mahaana Islamic Index (MII30) selects 30 companies from the KMI All Shares by free float with at least Rs 10 million average daily traded value over twelve months. Each index has a brochure on psx.com.pk; the recomposition lists are the screening source. Our explainer on how the KMI-30 is built covers the financial ratio tests behind the lists.

In practice, screening inside an app works three ways. ZLK Islamic's platform simply does not show non-compliant symbols, so there is nothing to filter. KTrade advertises Shariah stocks trading as a real-account feature, so you can build a list from the KMI-30 constituents and ignore the rest; confirm in the app how that filter is applied. JS Global, AKD and Arif Habib show the full market with index tabs; the discipline is yours. Whichever app you use, check the symbol against the latest PSX-KMI All Share recomposition before buying, because companies drop out when their debt or non-compliant income ratios breach the thresholds, and an app's cached index list may lag. If you would rather not screen at all, the two listed Islamic ETFs, Meezan Pakistan ETF and Mahaana Islamic Index ETF, do it for you; our halal ETF comparison sets them side by side.

Margin, borrowing and short selling: the switches to leave off

Every full-service app offers products that a halal investor must decline. Margin financing lends you money against your portfolio at a time-based charge, which is interest. The margin trading system does the same through the exchange. Securities lending and borrowing lets others short your shares for a fee and lets you short theirs, which involves selling what you do not own. Deliverable and cash-settled futures carry rollover charges that KTrade's tariff prices at 0.01 paisa a day or 0.15% a week, whichever is higher, and that is interest on a deferred position. Forex and commodity futures, which JS Global and others market alongside equities, are speculative contracts traded on borrowed money.

The practical defence is structural. Open a Sahulat account, which blocks margin products by rule, and keep your purchases within its Rs 3 million limit. If you need a normal account, decline the margin financing agreement at account opening; it is a separate document, and you can hold an ordinary account without it. Never fund a purchase before the money is in the account, and never let a buy settle through a broker's credit line. Our guide on how to invest halal covers these rules for funds and ETFs as well as direct shares.

Roshan Equity Investment for overseas Pakistanis

Non-resident Pakistanis invest through the Roshan Equity Investment (REI) route of the Roshan Digital Account. The process, as ZLK Islamic's RDA page describes it, starts at a designated Islamic bank's digital account form; the bank completes know-your-customer checks within 48 hours, the investor consents to share account details with the CDC, agrees to the PSX terms and selects a broker from the designated list. CDC then arranges the trading account with the broker, the UIN with NCCPL and the custody account, and the investor trades through the broker's app once funds are in the RDA. Banks offer custody either through the bank or through CDC.

ZLK Islamic, KTrade, JS Global, AKD and Arif Habib all list REI or RDA accounts. For a halal investor abroad, two points matter. Fund the RDA from an Islamic bank so the cash account itself is not on an interest-bearing footing, and pick a broker whose RDA account can be opened as Sahulat or Islamic to keep margin products off. Mahaana also accepts RDA investors into its funds and Save+ product, which is a route into the MIIETF and Islamic money market funds without picking stocks at all; our Mahaana provider page explains its fee model.

Verdict by investor type

A first-timer with less than Rs 5 lakh should open an Islamic Sahulat Account with ZLK Islamic if comfort matters most, since the platform cannot show a non-compliant stock, or a Sahulat account at KTrade if a published, low per-share commission matters more, and then buy only from the KMI-30 list. Either way the Sahulat rules block margin by default. An index buyer who wants one trade a month is better served by an Islamic ETF through any broker, or by Mahaana's MIIETF access, than by picking stocks; the screening and rebalancing are done by the fund manager, and Al Meezan and Mahaana each run a listed Islamic index ETF.

An active trader with a larger book needs a normal account and should treat broker selection as a tariff negotiation: ask KTrade, JS Global, AKD and Arif Habib for their written commission schedule, confirm that no margin agreement is signed, and run every symbol through the latest PSX-KMI All Share recomposition before each purchase. Whichever app you choose, open a CDC IAS account once your holdings pass a few lakh rupees, keep the statements for zakat and purification, and revisit the index lists after each semi-annual recomposition. The investing hub covers the fund and sukuk options that sit beside direct shares. Facts checked against psx.com.pk, cdcpakistan.com, zlkislamic.com.pk, kasb.com, jsglobalonline.com, akdsl.com, arifhabibltd.com, mahaana.com on 2 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Which trading app in Pakistan is fully halal?

ZLK Islamic Financial Services is the only brokerage that restricts trading to its published list of Shariah-compliant stocks, with Meezan Bank Limited and Usmani & Co. named as its Shariah advisers. All other apps, including KTrade, JS Global, AKD and Arif Habib, offer the full PSX and leave screening to you. Mahaana is fully Shariah-compliant but is a fund manager, not a broker.

What does KTrade charge in commission?

KTrade's Classic plan charges Rs 0.03 per share for shares priced at Rs 20 or below and 0.15% of traded value above Rs 20, which its PDF states as 3 paisa or 0.15%, whichever is higher. Premier charges up to 0.25% and Premier-I up to 0.20% on higher-priced shares. Add 15% Sindh sales tax on brokerage, Rs 50 a month for SMS confirmations, and CDC and NCCPL charges at actual.

What are the CDC fees for a retail investor?

For a broker sub-account, the CDC opening fee is waived for normal accounts and nil for Sahulat and IAS holders under the August 2026 CDS schedule. A direct CDC Investor Account costs Rs 338 a year for individuals, waived in the first year, with a transaction fee of 0.0036% of market value (minimum Rs 5, maximum Rs 25,000) and custody of 0.005625% a year on shares, per the August 2026 schedule.

How do I know if a PSX stock is Shariah-compliant?

Check whether it is a constituent of the PSX-KMI All Share Index, which comprises every Shariah-compliant company listed on the PSX and is maintained by the PSX with Meezan Bank's screening. The KMI-30 is the liquid subset of 30. The PSX indices page carries the brochures and recomposition lists. ZLK Islamic also publishes its own Shariah-compliant symbol list. Re-check after each semi-annual recomposition.

Is a Sahulat account good for halal investing?

Yes. The PSX Sahulat Account restricts trading to the ready market and blocks margin trading, margin financing, securities lending and borrowing and negotiated deals by rule, which removes the interest-bearing features automatically. It needs a simplified form and a CNIC copy, allows purchase positions up to Rs 3 million per broker, and can be converted to a normal account later. ZLK Islamic offers an Islamic Sahulat Account.

Can overseas Pakistanis use a halal trading app?

Yes, through the Roshan Equity Investment route of the Roshan Digital Account. Open the RDA with a designated Islamic bank, consent to share details with the CDC, choose a broker from the designated list, and trade through that broker's app once the account is funded. ZLK Islamic, KTrade, JS Global, AKD and Arif Habib all list REI accounts, and Mahaana accepts RDA investors into its funds.