A measurable upswing

Good news in Pakistan has to be received with caution, mainly because it is in short supply and is not always what it seems at first sight. It needs to be verified from at least three sources and even then double checked — just in case. Thus, the good news package being delivered by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) had to go through the mill before being passed as bona fide. There are a number of subjective reports of improvement in a range of areas in Pakistan in the last year, and in some cases hope has coalesced into substance. Things really have got better; and there are both the numbers to support that as well as the footfall of foreign investors that are feeling safe enough to conduct their business meetings in Pakistan rather than some offshore haven.

There was a 94 per cent decline in a range of crimes countrywide. Fewer phones are snatched, fewer cars hijacked and fewer reports of cash being snatched. Abductions and hostage-taking are down, so is extortion — and by extension though it has yet to be substantiated there is a reduction in corruption. The OICCI has conducted a security survey annually since 2015 so it is possible to derive a trend analysis. Members of OICCI report that their employees feel safer going to and from the workplace. Pakistan as a destination, be it tourism or business, is measurably safer and foreign governments are increasingly allowing their nationals to visit, with travel advisories relaxing as security improves.

This is no minor development. It is now for the government to capitalise on the report, to more effectively market Pakistan and to repaint the image of a country that has suffered woefully for decades, often from self-inflicted wounds. Terrorism is not defeated but it has been rolled back, the streets really are safer even in Karachi (though sadly no cleaner or less malodorous), public transport is more comfortable, the retail sector is buoyant and online trading upwardly mobile. As good news packages go, it is about as good as it gets and better than it has been for a very long time. Don’t be coy — sell it!

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2017.

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