Pakistan

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 18 November 2016

Casualties

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

4,181 (1,590 killed; 2,498 injured; 93 unknown)

Casualties in 2015

132 (2014: 233)

2015 casualties by outcome

59 killed; 73 injured (2014: 98 killed; 135 injured)

2015 casualties by device type

32 antipersonnel mine; 73 antivehicle mine; 16 victim-activated improvised explosive device (IED); 11 other explosive remnants of war (ERW)

 

In 2015, the Monitor identified 132 casualties from mines/ERW, including victim-activated IEDs, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. More than half of all casualties (57%) in 2015 were civilians. Among 75 recorded civilian casualties, there were at least 45 children. Military and security forces represented the remaining 43% of the total annual recorded casualties (57). The 2015 figures were calculated from the database of Sustainable Peace and Development Organization (SPADO), which included at least 377 media-reported casualties of mines/ERW, IEDs, and hand grenades in Pakistan for 2015; the difference in the total mine/ERW casualties reported is due to the variation in media descriptions of the types of explosive devices used and the Monitor’s methodology for reporting casualties of mines/ERW, including victim-activated IEDs (improvised landmines).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK, formerly North-West Frontier Province), the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and Balochistan continued to have the highest numbers of mine/ERW casualties in Pakistan; the combined annual totals for these areas accounted for more than 91% of all mine/ERW casualties in Pakistan in 2015.[1]

The 2015 casualty total represented a decrease from the 233 mine/ERW casualties recorded in 2014 and the 219 recorded in 2013, and a very significant drop in the total number of annual casualties from the 569 mine/ERW casualties identified in 2011. However, given the considerable variation in the availability of annual casualty data over time, it is not possible to be certain of the extent to which changes in recorded casualties are indicative of actual trends versus shifts in media coverage and use of terminology.[2]

Antivehicle mine incidents caused more than half of of recorded casualties (55%) in 2015. The number of annual casualties caused by antivehicle mines reported in 2015 (73) represents an increase compared to 2014 in both number of casualties (73 versus 67) and in ratio of total casualties (55% versus 29%). The ratio of antivehicle mine casualties in 2015 was the highest since Monitor reporting of the differentiation between mine types began in 2006.[3]

The proportion of total mine/ERW casualties reported to have been caused by victim-activated IEDs (16, or 12%) continued to be significantly lower than recorded in 2010, when victim-activated IEDs caused more than half of all casualties. Prior to 2010, the ratio had been increasing since at least 2007.[4] In 2015, as in previous years, a number of child casualties were caused by victim-activated IEDs or booby-traps that resembled toys.

Due to the lack of official data or a comprehensive data-collection mechanism, the total number of casualties in Pakistan is not known. In its transparency reporting for 2015, Pakistan reiterated, as it had in previous years, that there had been no ERW casualties.[5] However, between 1999 and 2014, the Monitor identified at least 4,181 (1,590 killed; 2,498 injured; 93 unknown) from landmines, victim-activated IEDs, and ERW.[6] It is likely that the total number of casualties is much higher. Pakistan reported 838 “IED attacks” in 2015, “including” antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines; of these attacks, 537 (or 64%) were said to have caused casualties. Pakistan officially reported that “No ERW exist in Pakistan” and “Pakistan at present faces no problem of uncleared mines.”[7]

Victim Assistance

The Monitor has identified 2,499 mine/ERW survivors in Pakistan since 1999.

Victim assistance in 2015

Access to services remained a challenge for most persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, particularly those from rural areas. In particular, in FATA, KPK, and Balochistan, access to services, particularly medical care, continued to be restricted due to violence and security concerns.[8]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2015, SPADO carried out media monitoring for new mine/ERW casualties.[9] In 2014, the ICRC reported that plans for a data gathering network for victims of weapons contamination were canceled due to government reservations.[10]

Victim assistance coordination

Pakistan has reported that the Military Operations Directorate of the Pakistan army was the focal point for victim assistance, but has also asserted that there were no mine or ERW casualties. Public reports did not indicate if the Military Operations Directorate was responsible for both military and civilian survivors.[11] Pakistan has also reported that it has a procedure and comprehensive program for victims of IEDs. However, it was not reported if civilians could access these services.[12] Monitor researchers were told that civilians with war injuries could also access services and that the Military Operations Directorate has responsibility for them as well.[13]

Several ministries were involved in disability issues, including the Ministry of Health and the Capital Administration and Development Division.[14] Responsibility for inclusive education, social welfare, and the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities was passed to the provincial level after the dissolution of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education in April 2011.[15] Pakistan has a National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (2002–2025).

Pakistan did not provide updates on victim assistance services, including rehabilitation programs, or on coordination in its most recent Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V Article 10 report or its CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 report.[16]

Survivor participation and inclusion

No information was available about the inclusion of mine/ERW survivors in coordination, implementation, or monitoring of strategies that are relevant to them.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[17]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

National military rehabilitation center

Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFIRM)

Physical rehabilitation for members of the military

National university in physical rehabilitation

Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences (PIPOS)

Physical rehabilitation throughout the country

Regional hospital

 

Bolan Medical Complex Quetta, Balochistan

Physiotherapy services for persons with disabilities

Christian Hospital Rehabilitation Centre

Medical care and physical rehabilitation in Balochistan

Hayat Shaheed Teaching Hospital

Medical care and physical rehabilitation in Peshawar

Lady Reading Hospital

Physical rehabilitation in Peshawar

Muzaffarabad Physical Rehabilitation Centre

Physical rehabilitation in Kashmir

National NGO

Chotanagpur Human Activity Life (CHAL) Foundation

Rehabilitation centers, including prosthetics in Bagh, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir; and in KPK: Balakot, Battagram, and Besham

Human Development and Promotional Group

Providing prostheses to child mine/ERW survivors in Bajour, FATA

SPADO

Advocacy for victim assistance; referrals to services in FATA and KPK; maintained comprehensive casualty database

International NGO

 

Handicap International (HI)

Focused on the vulnerabilities of persons with disabilities

Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD)

Physical rehabilitation in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and in Swat and Buner, KPK

Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD)

Counseling, rehabilitation, and economic inclusion programs; disability advocacy; gender equality programming

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF)

Emergency and ongoing medical care in KPK, FATA, and Balochistan

 

International organization

ICRC

Emergency relief, strengthening of emergency and ongoing medical care; support for physical rehabilitation; support for the formation of sports clubs for persons with disabilities; and small grants and business training

 

Emergency and continuing medical care

Despite existing needs, ICRC activities to improve the availability and quality of services throughout the casualty care chain continued to face some restrictions. After no headway was made in talks to reopen the ICRC field surgical hospital in Peshawar, the facility was officially closed and dismantled in 2014, with equipment distributed to other facilities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.[18] In 2015, the ICRC began supporting Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar to treat victims of violence.[19] The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society trained over 650 persons on emergency first aid of weapons wounds and war surgery and emergency room trauma courses for doctors and nurses in FATA and KPK. The ICRC provided material support to treat victims of explosions in health facilities in KPK on an ad hoc basis.[20]

MSF noted that health services in Pakistan were often not affordable. In many regions, insecurity further restricted access to services. Populations affected by conflict, including Afghan refugees, often sought medical assistance in the district hospital of Chaman, Balochistan province, operated by MSF.[21]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

Access to rehabilitation services remains a challenge for most persons with disabilities, particularly those in rural areas. Barriers to access services included transport, poverty, lack of awareness about services, cultural and physical barriers, illiteracy, and the security situation. The ICRC, CHAL Foundation, Indus Hospital, and the Punjab provincial government worked together to open a new rehabilitation center in Lahore in 2015. In 2015, fewer mine/ERW survivors (392 compared to 508 in 2014) received prosthetics and 140 mine/ERW survivors received orthotic devices at ICRC-supported rehabilitation centers.[22] Overall, in 2015 almost 20,000 people received physical rehabilitation services at ICRC-assisted centers, including 4,800 who had their transportation, accommodation, and treatment costs covered.[23]

Social and economic inclusion

In 2015, the ICRC supported sporting events, as well as provided sports equipment to children with disabilities to promote inclusion of persons with physical disabilities receiving services within the network of assisted centers. The ICRC also provided sponsorship for children with disabilities to attend camps and other social activities.[24]

In 2015, livelihood and disability rights projects for affected communities by SPADO and its partner organizations were yet to be implemented pending official approval to access and work in the communities. That approval had not yet been granted as of May 2016.[25]

Few psychological support programs were available in Pakistan.

The National Council for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled provided job placement and financial loans or assistance, however, employment quotas for persons with disabilities lacked adequate enforcement. Organizations that did not wish to hire persons with disabilities to meet the quota could instead pay a fine to a disability assistance fund, however, this obligation was also not enforced. Most persons with disabilities were supported by their families. The law provides for equality of the rights of persons with disabilities, but this was not fully implemented in practice.[26] In 2014, the provincial government of Balochistan passed a compensation law for civilian victims of terrorism and armed conflict.[27]

Pakistan ratified the CRPD on 5 July 2011.



[1] Monitor casualty analysis based on data provided by the Sustainable Peace and Development Organization (SPADO) media monitoring, 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. In 2015, FATA had 60 mine/ERW casualties; Balochistan 41; and KPK 19.

[2] While efforts have been made to increase sources of casualty data, the media remains the main source of data; the sporadic reporting of the incidents, along with remoteness and security situation of the areas where such incidents took place, make it likely that casualties continue to be under-reported.

[3] Previously, 2011 had the highest ratio of antivehicle mine casualties with 52% of that year’s casualties (293 out of 569 total casualties).

[4] Prior to 2007, casualties from victim-activated IEDs were not systematically disaggregated in the data from those caused by command-detonated IEDs, making it difficult to draw accurate comparisons. For details, see previous country profiles for Pakistan available on the Monitor website.

[5] Convention on Conventional Weapon s (CCW) Protocol V Article 10 Report (for calendar year 2015), Form E, 21 March 2015; CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report (for calendar year 2015), Form B, 26 March 2016; Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V Article 10 Report (for calendar year 2014), Form E, 24 March 2015; Article 13 Report (for calendar year 2014), Forms B and F, 31 March 2015; Article 10 Report (for calendar year 2013), Form E, 3 April 2014; Article 13 Report (for calendar year 2013), Forms B and F, 3 April 2014; Article 10 Report (for calendar year 2012), Forms B and E, 27 March 2013; Article 13 Report (for calendar year 2012), Form B, 27 March 2013; Article 13 Report (for calendar year 2011), Form B, 31 March 2012; Article 10 Report, Form C, 15 March 2011; Article 10 Report, Form C, April 2010; Article 13 Report (for the period 16 August 2006 to 15 August 2007); Article 13 Report, Form B, 10 November 2006; Article 13 Report, 2 November 2005; and Article 13 Report, 8 October 2004.

[6] Data was collected through media monitoring, field visits, and information provided by service providers. For details, see previous country profiles for Pakistan available on the Monitor website.

[8] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programme (PRP), “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, 2015; Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), “International Activity Report 2014 – Pakistan,” undated; and interview with Raza Khan, Director, SPADO, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 May 2016.

[9] Email from Raza Khan, SPADO, 14 July 2016.

[10] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, 2015, p. 301.

[11] Article 10 Report, Form C, 31 March 2012; and Article 10 Report, Form C, 31 March 2013.

[12] Article 13 Report, Form B, 1 April 2011.

[13] Interview with representative of Pakistan, Geneva, 26 June 2015.

[14] United States (US) Department of State, “2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan,” Washington, DC, 13 April 2016.

[15] Ibid.

[17] There are hundreds of service providers (most of which are public or private health or rehabilitation centers) delivering assistance to persons with disabilities in Pakistan. The organizations listed here have reported providing some assistance to mine/ERW/IED survivors or working in affected areas. ICRC, “Annual Report 2015,” Geneva, 2016; ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, 2015; Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences (PIPOS); Bolan Medical Complex (College); Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD); CAMP; Leonard Cheshire Disability; SPADO; Handicap International (HI); and MSF; and SPADO, “Addressing the Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War in Pakistan,” Geneva, November 2012, pp. 18–20.

[18] ICRC “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, May 2015, p. 301.

[19] ICRC, “Annual Report 2015,” Geneva, 2016, p. 356.

[20] Ibid.

[22] ICRC, “Annual Report 2015,” Geneva, 2016, 357.

[23] ICRC “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, May 2015, p. 303.

[24] ICRC, “Annual Report 2015,” Geneva, 2016, p. 357; and ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, 2015.

[25] Interview with Raza Kahn, SPADO, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 May 2016.

[26] US Department of State, “2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan,” Washington, DC, 13 April 2015.

[27] Open Societies Foundation, “Pakistani Law Helps Victims of Conflict, Sets Precedent,” 9 May 2014.