KARACHI: Pakistan’s major business hubs of Karachi and Lahore saw a marked improvement in law and order over the past year, with a notable decline in serious and street crimes, according to the Security Survey 2025 conducted by foreign investors operating in the country.

The annual assessment by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) — representing more than 200 multinational firms — found that both crime levels and employee security perceptions improved significantly between June 2024 and May 2025. The report said Karachi and Lahore recorded the sharpest drop in major crimes, while the overall business environment across Sindh and Punjab strengthened.

The survey’s findings come amid a renewed surge in militant attacks across Pakistan in recent months, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and parts of Balochistan, where Pakistani security forces have been battling an uptick in insurgent violence and cross-border militancy.

“The security environment has shown improvement across business operations in 2025 compared to 2024,” the OICCI report said, noting that Karachi and Lahore recorded the most visible progress while the southwestern Balochistan province, wracked by a decades-long insurgency, remained a concern.

The survey, based on feedback from member companies, noted that serious crimes had decreased in Karachi, Sindh and Punjab, while street crimes fell sharply in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Quetta, the provincial capital of Balocistan, and Peshawar, the capital of KP province, showed moderate progress. The overall security situation in Balochistan deteriorated, remaining the weakest among all provinces.

Respondents said employees now felt safer during daily commutes, with improved perceptions of security in the country’s largest urban centers. 

Confidence in law enforcement agencies also rose, with Karachi and Sindh Police receiving better ratings than last year, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Sindh Rangers and the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) Karachi maintained strong approval levels.

The survey identified illegal gratification, expatriate security and political protests as the top challenges still affecting business confidence, though the proportion of investors ranking security as a major obstacle fell compared to previous years.

Foreign investors said the findings reflected “steady progress in urban safety” and an improved “operational climate for business,” crediting coordinated policing and provincial counter-crime efforts for the gains.