By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured a delegation of foreign investors on Sunday that the government would provide them with protection, the interior ministry said, amid a surge in militant attacks in the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Naqvi met the investors to outline security steps for their protection and projects, a government statement said.
“Pakistan is a safe country for all kinds of investment,” Naqvi said. “The protection of investors investing in Pakistan is the top priority of our government.”
Pakistan has faced a marked increase in militancy in recent months, with separatist groups frequently targeting foreign interests, particularly Chinese projects in Balochistan and the southern port city of Karachi.
Recent incidents include a November suicide bombing near Karachi’s airport that killed two Chinese nationals, an October attack on a Balochistan coal mine leaving 20 miners dead, and a March assault in Besham claiming five Chinese lives.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, has seen a 45 percent rise in terrorism-related deaths over the past year, according to the 2025 Global Terrorism Index.
Baloch militants are angered by what they say is the state’s exploitation of the region’s rich mineral resources, with little of the proceeds filtering down to people in what remains the country’s poorest province. They accuse the federal government and Punjab, the country’s most prosperous province, of exploiting Balochistan’s rich natural resources.
The minister acknowledged the recent wave of militant violence and noted the delegation’s suggestions and assured them of all possible cooperation.
“We have taken serious notice of attacks by certain miscreants, and legal action is being taken against the culprits,” Naqvi said.
“Action is being taken against these miscreants according to the law.”
Naqvi said the government has prepared a strategy to prevent such incidents in the future. “A strategy has been formed to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.”
The government is pushing to draw foreign funds through efforts like the Special Investment Facilitation Council and a minerals summit to escape a prolonged economic crisis that has drained the country’s financial resources and triggered a balance of payment crisis.
Islamabad hosted a minerals summit earlier this month inviting hundreds of foreign investors to tap into Pakistan’s natural resources. The SIFC is aimed to attract foreign investment in priority sectors such as defense, mining and minerals, energy, livestock, agriculture, tourism and others.
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