Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has met a delegation of traders and industrialists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan and assured them that the government would employ all available resources to resolve their issues and ensure their protection, the interior ministry said on Friday.

In a statement on X, the ministry said representatives from all chambers of commerce spoke about the security situation in their respective provinces and the challenges they were facing.

For his part, Naqvi briefed the delegation on the overall security situation in the country, particularly in KP and Balochistan, and the steps taken by the government in this regard, the statement added.

“He assured the business community of complete cooperation,” it stated, further quoting Naqvi as saying: “The government will employ all available resources to resolve the issues of traders and industrialists and ensure their protection.”

He further said that he would soon visit Peshawar and Quetta and hold detailed meetings with the business community in the presence of senior government officials and representatives so that “a permanent and practical solution” for the challenges being faced by traders and industrialists could be worked out.

He further said, “The private sector plays a key role in stabilising the country’s economy. Pakistan’s progress lies in the progress of the business community. The government is with you and we will resolve all your legitimate issues.”

Naqvi’s meeting with members of the business community takes place against the backdrop of security challenges in KP and Balochistan.

A monthly security assessment released in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said that after two consecutive months of improvement, Pakistan’s security situation deteriorated sharply in May, driven primarily by escalating terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Earlier this month, security forces and law enforcement personnel jointly launched Operation Shaban in Balochistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat on July 6. During that assault, armed attackers kidnapped and killed 27 police officers.

Later, security forces also launched Operation Al-Azm in the province after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach coming from Quetta claimed three lives and injured five others last week.

More recently, in KP, nine policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, were martyred and 28 others injured after terrorists attacked the Khazina Banda checkpost in Hangu district late on Wednesday.

A statement issued by KP Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed said that the checkpost was attacked by Fitna-al-Khawarij, a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Also on Wednesday, a policeman was martyred and four terrorists were killed during an operation in Swat’s Matta tehsil.

On July 24, terrorists also attempted to breach a joint police checkpost’s perimeter in Tank, and according to ISPR, the attempt was “swiftly and decisively foiled” by security forces, who eliminated 12 terrorists.

On Thursday, Naqvi had held a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, during which both reviewed the country’s overall law and order situation, with particular focus on the security situation in KP and Balochistan.

The interior minister had briefed the president on the prevailing law and order situation in the two provinces, as well as the ongoing measures being taken to combat terrorism.