What local dishes should I try in Pakistan, and where should I look for them?

Those 2 commodities explain most of what reaches a Pakistani table. The same USDA report gives a government wheat procurement target of 6.6 million metric tons for that marketing year and expected state-held stocks of 10.0 million metric tons after procurement, with Afghanistan the largest export market, taking 600,000 metric tons in the form of flour rather than grain. Rice stocks were expected to reach a record 2.0 million metric tons by the end of 2015/16, and the report notes that basmati exports face stiff competition — basmati being the long-grain rice behind biryani and pulao rather than an export abstraction.

Salt is the third element, and it has a heritage designation of its own. Pakistan placed The Salt Range and Khewra Salt Mine on its World Heritage Tentative List in 2016, alongside the Karez System Cultural Landscape — the latter a traditional underground water-channel system. A cuisine's seasoning and its irrigation both appear on the same national heritage document, which is an unusually direct statement of how the food geography works.

What that produces is regionally distinct: wheat roti and naan across Punjab, rice-forward cooking in Sindh, and the slow-cooked meat traditions that follow wheat country rather than rice country.

Two consumables are illegal to bring in. UK government guidance states that importing alcohol or pork is illegal and can lead to detention, and that anything potentially prohibited, taxable or subject to duty should be declared. Travelers who assume duty-free purchases are a neutral act are mistaken here, and the consequence named is detention rather than confiscation.

• Punjab — Wheat is the grain, which is why flatbread rather than rice anchors a meal; the province sits inside the belt that produced a 25.5 million metric ton crop.
• Sindh — Rice dominates, and basmati is the variety behind the layered rice dishes.
• The Salt Range — Khewra's mine, on the Tentative List since 2016, is the source behind the rock salt used across the country's cooking.

Water and food safety set real limits. Tap water is not safe to drink and ice may be made from it, so cold drinks need the same caution as water itself. The CDC has issued Level 1 Travel Health Notices for extensively drug-resistant typhoid and for measles — typhoid being a food- and water-borne illness, which makes it directly relevant to eating out. Counterfeit medications are common and many US-brand drugs are unavailable, so anything needed for a stomach upset should be carried in. A polio vaccination within 1 year before travel may be required in order to exit the country, and COVID-19 vaccination is required for travelers aged 12 and over.

The Pakistan places question covers the Tentative List in full, including Khewra and the Karez system; the when-to-visit question explains the seasonal air-quality and mountain-access issues.