WASHINGTON, Feb 25: Foreign investors in Pakistan are chalking up handsome profits as the country becomes more secure with comparatively low operating costs, President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday.

President Musharraf said the profitability margin of some 600 to 700 foreign investors in Pakistan "is somewhere between 20 and 50 per cent." They are reporting 'good profits' and their "investments have been secure", Gen Musharraf told US broadcasting network CNBC in an interview.

He said the security situation was under control following relentless efforts to contain militant activity. "We are on the winning side as far as the battle against terrorism is concerned. This should be seen by the world, and that is what we are trying to project now to the world and to the investors," he said.

"We are trying to create an investor-friendly environment here in Pakistan (and) the investor himself should see our environment," President Musharraf said. He said investors looking into the future should consider Pakistan has tackled the issue of terrorism.

"Any investor should see all these realities and should be attracted. Let me say a lot of investors are coming and seeing the reality themselves," he said, citing 77 countries that attended an export exhibition recently.

He said labour costs in Pakistan were "the lowest" in the region. "I know the labour cost in Pakistan is 34 cents an hour, whereas in India it's 57 cents an hour," he said. Pakistan recorded 6.4 per cent growth last year and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has forecast it would rise to 7 per cent this year. -AFP