ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday assured a delegation of foreign investors that the government would provide them protection, the interior ministry said, amid surging militant attacks in the country. 

Pakistan has been worried by a spike in militancy, especially in its western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan bordering Afghanistan, in recent months. Separatist militants have often targeted Chinese interests in Balochistan and the southern port city of Karachi. 

Naqvi met a delegation of foreign investors on Sunday, the interior ministry said, in a meeting where both sides discussed measures taken to ensure investors’ protection and to secure their investments.

“Pakistan is a safe country for all kinds of investment,” the statement said. “The protection of investors investing in Pakistan is the top priority of our government.”

The interior ministry said Naqvi 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,” the statement said. 

Naqvi said the government has prepared a strategy to prevent such incidents in the future, Mohsin Naqvi.

The statement said that the delegation thanked Naqvi for his assurances in resolving their concerns.

Pakistan has increasingly attempted to woo foreign investors in recent months as it aims 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. 

Pakistan also formed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in June 2023 to attract foreign investment in priority sectors such as defense, mining and minerals, energy, livestock, agriculture, tourism and others.