Pakistan continues to face extraordinary challenges on the security and law enforcement front. The country has suffered greater military, law enforcement, and civilian casualties in fighting extremism and terrorism than almost any other country. In the midst of this difficult security situation, Pakistan's civilian government remains weak, ineffectual, and corrupt.
The lack of energy, with large parts of the country affected by power cuts up to 16 hours a day, continues to pose a major obstacle to business activity. Other challenges include the law and order situation, infrastructure bottlenecks, and shortages in oil and gas supply, insufficient transport systems and a lack of State capacity to provide basic services, such as potable water, healthcare and education; to a growing population (latest estimate is approx. 184m).
The long standing war with India has been, and continues to be, a serious threat to business in Pakistan.
The dispute over Kashmir continues to plague the region. The periodic eruption of violence has long hampered the stability of the area. The constant threat of conflict between the two nations utilizes a great deal of Pakistan’s resources, further damaging their ability to grow business.
Political target killings are another great threat to Pakistan’s ability to attract business. The killings mainly take place in the city of Karachi where unknown gunmen fired indiscriminately throughout several neighborhoods. In total, more than 300 people were killed in July alone. Typically, the target killings are politically motivated and carried out against political workers or those affiliated with political parties. The recent indiscriminate killings have severely hampered Pakistan’s ability to do business as the raids reflect the poor security that is present throughout the region.
Political bickering over alleged rigging in the 2013 elections further eroded whatever economic stability the country was aspiring to. Investment, both domestic and foreign, dwindled due to terrorism and the energy crisis.