EDITORIAL: Investment follows confidence. It seeks stability, predictability and the reasonable expectation that people, assets and commercial activity can operate without constant disruption.
The latest OICCI Security Survey therefore serves as more than another assessment of Pakistan’s law and order situation. It is a reminder of the fact that security has become one of the country’s most binding economic constraints at precisely the moment when it can least afford one.
The findings are sobering. More than seven out of ten leading foreign investors rank security among their three biggest business concerns. Conditions in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital and financial hub, have deteriorated further with street crime remaining the principal concern for businesses.
Security perceptions in Quetta and the rest of Balochistan remain deeply negative, while companies also report growing concern over employee safety, logistics and business continuity.
Let’s not forget that these are not merely abstract statistics, they represent investment decisions that may never be made and expansion plans that may never materialise.
That should concern policymakers far more than the survey itself.
Pakistan’s economy is in desperate need of investment. Domestic private investment remains subdued.
Foreign direct investment has struggled for years to reach levels capable of supporting sustained economic growth. Successive governments have established investment promotion bodies, announced facilitation initiatives and pursued structural reforms in an effort to attract capital.
Yet none of these efforts can fully compensate for an environment where investors remain uncertain about basic security.
The challenge extends well beyond conventional terrorism.
Karachi continues to grapple with street crime, organised criminal networks, extortion and threats to personal safety that directly affect commercial activity. Businesses calculate these risks every day through higher insurance costs, additional private security, disrupted supply chains and reduced operational efficiency. The cumulative economic cost is substantial even when it does not appear in official statistics.
Beyond the country’s commercial centre lies an equally serious security landscape. Cross-border terrorism along Pakistan’s western frontier continues to demand sustained military and intelligence operations. The repeated use of Afghan territory by terrorist organisations targeting Pakistan has become an issue of legitimate national concern, requiring continued diplomatic engagement alongside robust security measures. At the same time, Pakistan’s security agencies have repeatedly alleged external support and financing for militant groups seeking to destabilise the country, further complicating an already difficult security environment.
None of these challenges emerged suddenly, of course.
Pakistan has spent years confronting terrorism, rebuilding security institutions and restoring public confidence after periods of intense violence. Considerable progress has undoubtedly been made compared with the darkest years of terrorist activity. That makes the recent deterioration all the more troubling because it suggests that hard-won gains cannot be taken for granted. Security, like economic stability, requires constant vigilance.
The encouraging aspect of the OICCI survey is that foreign investors have not abandoned Pakistan. Most respondents remain willing to hold board and management meetings in the country, reflecting continued confidence in its long-term economic potential. That confidence, however, should not be mistaken for unlimited patience. Investors evaluate risk continuously, and capital has no shortage of alternative destinations.
The government’s responsibility is therefore clear. Strengthening policing, improving urban law enforcement, dismantling organised criminal networks, protecting commercial centres and sustaining pressure against terrorist organisations are no longer security objectives alone. They have become economic imperatives. Every improvement in public safety strengthens Pakistan’s investment case; and every deterioration weakens it.
Pakistan possesses many of the fundamentals investors seek: a large domestic market, a young population, strategic geography and considerable untapped economic potential. Those advantages, however, cannot fully offset persistent concerns over security. Investment ultimately depends upon confidence, and confidence depends upon the state’s ability to guarantee that businesses can operate in a secure and predictable environment.
The country has spent years trying to convince investors that Pakistan is open for business. That message will carry greater weight when security conditions consistently reinforce it rather than undermine it. Until then, every security setback will continue imposing an economic cost that Pakistan can scarcely afford.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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