Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, assured foreign investors that Pakistan was a safe country to invest and that the government “would comply [its] Responsibility to protect them at all costs, ”said a press release from the Ministry on Sunday.
Although Pakistan has made efforts to exploit its natural resources and has invited foreign investment in different projects, the security situation in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa often raises challenges, and foreign citizens are attacked in recent years.
According to the press release, the Interior Minister met with a delegation of foreign investors in Lahore and discussed the steps to guarantee their safety, pointing out the contributions of the delegation and assuring them that measures would be taken.
“Pakistan is a safe country for all kinds of investments,” Naqvi said. “Investor protection is the main priority of our government and we will fulfill our responsibility to protect investors at all costs.”
The press release cited Naqvi saying that the Government had taken measures to guarantee the safety of investors and that it has taken “strict measures” against violent evildoers.
“Measures are being taken against these criminals in accordance with the law,” Naqvi emphasized. “A strategy has been formed to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.”
The press release did not refer to any particular incident.
Earlier this month, Army staff general (COAS), Syed also, said the military would guarantee a solid security framework and proactive measures to protect the interests and confidence of Pakistan’s partners and investors in Baluchistan.
He assured this guarantee while heading to the Pakistan 2025 Mineral Investment Forum, a two-day event to promote mining and mineral investment opportunities in the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
“I firmly believe that Pakistan is ready to emerge as a leader in the global mineral economy,” said the head of the Army, according to PTV news.
He added that the army welcomed international institutions to share their experience with Pakistan, explore investment opportunities and associate with the country in the development of its vast resource potential.
In November last year, a suicide attack near Karachi airport, claimed by the successful Liberation Army of Baluchistan, left two dead Chinese citizens and wounded another ten.
Separately, at least 20 miners were killed and seven were injured in an attack of armed men in a private coal mine in the Duki area of Baluchistan in October.
In March 2024, Chinese workers were attacked in Besham, according to reports, Tehreek-I-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Islamic-Khorasano State (IS-K), resulting in five Chinese deaths.
Five Japanese nationals were unharmed after their vehicle was attacked by a suicide terrorist in Karachi in April last year.
At least four people, including three Chinese citizens, were killed while four others were injured in a suicidal attack outside the confucio institute of the University of Karachi (KU) in 2022.
In January 2021, 11 coal miners belonging to the Chiíta Hazara community that slept in their room were retained at gunpoint, with bandaged and nighted eyes before being executed by unidentified attackers in the Mach coal field area. The militant group of the Islamic State had assumed the responsibility of the murder.
