Boots on the Ground: Proximities’ In-Country Assessment of Pakistan

An internationally renowned company in the shipbuilding industry with worldwide operations.

Operating globally presents a myriad of challenges and security concerns for our clients. Therefore, understanding local conditions and geopolitical issues is essential to conducting business adequately, capitalising on opportunities, and managing risks faced by their people, assets, information, and reputation.

During a recent project, our client sought to increase staff travel to Pakistan, specifically to Karachi and Islamabad. The country offers interesting business prospects but also has a tense geopolitical threat landscape that requires in-depth analysis and up-to-date intelligence.

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For several years now, we have been monitoring the local situation in the Pakistani cities frequented by the client’s technical, service, and sales staff through the range of sensors we employ at Proximities. These include electronic intelligence, human source-based intelligence (HUMINT), image-based intelligence (IMINT), geospatial analysis, advanced device tracking, cyber-intelligence, and open-source and semi-open-source databases. Through these sensors, we provide our clients with the intelligence needed to adjust personnel movements and business operations proactively.

Given the growing frequency of their travels to Pakistan and the volatility of the country’s geopolitical situation, our client asked us to conduct an In-Country Assessment (ICA) of the potential risks their personnel and business operations could face in Karachi and Islamabad. Even in today’s digital day and age, actual boots on the ground can be an enormous advantage in intelligence gathering.

Discussing the issues at stake with our client, external partners, and analysts, we identified the locations we wanted to visit, the procedures we wanted to verify, and the people we wanted to meet. During this process, the client was constantly briefed to ensure they were kept abreast of all developments and the ICA was as tailor-fitted to their needs as possible.  The analysts, meanwhile, revisited Proximities’ existing baseline intelligence on the relevant cities in Pakistan and provided a guideline for the ICA.

After the preparations were made, a highly experienced member of our team went to Pakistan with the responsible manager from our client. During the week-long trip, existing and new business locations were visited and vetted, contact with local partners and diplomatic staff was established, and our analysts’ security assessment was put to the test.

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Even in today’s digital day and age, actual boots on the ground can be an enormous advantage in intelligence gathering.

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The trip paid rich analytical dividends as our desk-based analysis was verified and validated. Just as important, the visit also established further working relationships with local partners that can be used for future client travels to Pakistan. Building trust and a common understanding requires direct contact and time, especially when operating in cultures different from your own.  

The updated analysis and travel protocol resulting from the ICA enables us to translate the risks in these cities and their local variations into even more concrete, actionable solutions for our client.

Has this Impact Study sparked your interest? Do you have an upcoming business trip to a high-risk region that you would also like to have vetted by our analyst team? Do not hesitate to contact us via info@proximities.com, we will be happy to support you.