Survey shows security situation improving

KARACHI: A recent survey with leading foreign investors in Pakistan on matters related to security shows a positive change in Pakistan’s security environment, especially after the launch of the Karachi operations and the "Zarb-e-Azb" initiative.
The survey was conducted in June among members of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI).
According to a report released on Tuesday, the overall survey results were generally positive and revealed that the security environment all over Pakistan, especially in Karachi, had improved significantly during the period covered in the survey—January 1, 2014 to the end of April 2015—compared to the corresponding period in 2012-13. The survey reveals that 74 percent of the respondents mentioned a reduction in security incidents. Seventy-three percent responded that, compared to the situation in 2013, their staff people feel more comfortable in their commutes to the workplace and back.
Sixty-eight percent said that more overseas visitors, including technical and professional staff, came to Pakistan during January 2014 and April 2015, compared to the corresponding period in 2013, and that a very small number of board and management meetings were now held outside Pakistan.
In a similar survey in 2012, OICCI members had reported that a large number of such meetings were held abroad for security reasons. A high percentage of respondents reported that their employees all over Pakistan feel more secure now in doing business and in their social engagements.
A spokesperson of the OICCI described the results as foreign investors’ positive reaction to the government’s initiatives to tackle the serious security, law and order situation.
The OICCI survey says, however, that there is considerable room for improvement for the environment to return to normal, so that travel advisories from diplomatic sources change for the positive in line with the current perception of the OICCI members, he said.
He said the need for a robust security environment would be critical in the coming months as a large number of expatriate workers and technical staff would soon be coming to Pakistan in connection with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. "One of the key drivers for the success of the CPEC will be a good, sustained security environment," he said.