Summary: Non-signatory Pakistan acknowledges the harm caused by cluster munitions, yet regards them as legitimate weapons that should not be prohibited. Pakistan has participated as an observer in meetings of the convention, most recently in 2016. However, it abstained from the vote on a key United Nations (UN) resolution on the convention in December 2018.

Pakistan produces cluster munitions and has likely exported them. It has not disclosed information on its stockpile of cluster munitions. Pakistan states that it has never used cluster munitions, but it has participated in a Saudi Arabia-led military operation in Yemen that has used cluster munitions since March 2015.

Policy

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Pakistan has recognized the serious humanitarian consequences caused by the “indiscriminate use” of cluster munitions and welcomed “efforts to mitigate their negative consequences,” but views cluster munitions as legitimate weapons with military utility. [1] In 2015, Pakistan told States Parties that the issue is “irresponsible and indiscriminate use of cluster munitions” and confirmed that it considers cluster munitions to be “legitimate weapons with recognized military value in our regional context.” [2]

Pakistan has expressed regret that cluster munitions were not regulated via the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) to which it is a party. [3] Yet Pakistan has not proposed any new CCW work on cluster munitions since 2011, when states failed to conclude a CCW protocol on cluster munitions, effectively ending their deliberations on the topic and leaving the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole international instrument to specifically address the human suffering caused by these weapons.

Pakistan did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions. [4]

Pakistan has participated in meetings of the convention, but not since 2016. [5] It was invited to, but did not attend, the convention’s Seventh Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2018.

In December 2018, Pakistan abstained from the vote on a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution, which urges states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.” [6] It has abstained from the vote on the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015. Pakistan said in 2015–2017 that it abstained because “we consider cluster munitions to be legitimate weapons with recognized military utility.” [7]

Pakistan is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Pakistan has produced ground-delivered and air-dropped cluster munitions.

State-owned Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) has produced and offered for export M483A1 155mm artillery projectiles containing 88 M42/M46 dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions. [8] South Korean company Poongsan entered into a licensed production agreement with POF in 2004 to co-produce K-310 155mm extended-range DPICM projectiles in Pakistan at Wah Cantonment. [9] The Pakistani army took delivery of the first production lots in 2008. [10]

In 2011, the London-based arms expo Defence & Security Equipment international (DSEi) closed the POF stand after promotional material was found listing the 155mm extended range (base bleed) DPICM cluster munition for sale. [11] Similar concerns were raised when POF advertised the same 155mm DPICM cluster munition at the 2009 DSEi arms fair. [12]

Jane’s Information Group has reported that the Pakistan Air Weapons Center produces the Programmable Submunitions Dispenser (PSD-1), similar to the United States (US) Rockeye cluster bomb and dispenses 225 anti-armor submunitions and lists the Pakistan National Development Complex as producing the Hijara Top-Attack Submunitions Dispenser (TSD-1) cluster bomb. Jane’s also lists the Pakistan Air Force as possessing BL-755 cluster bombs. [13] The US transferred 200 Rockeye cluster bombs to Pakistan at some point between 1970 and 1995. [14]

Pakistan has resisted calls to institute a prohibition on the transfer of cluster munitions, but it has a long-standing export moratorium on antipersonnel landmines. [15]

There is no public information available on the quantities of cluster munitions stockpiled by Pakistan, and limited information on types.

Use

Pakistan has stated several times that it has never used cluster munitions. [16]

Since March 2015, Pakistan has participated in a Saudi Arabia-led joint military operation in Yemen against Houthi forces, also known as Ansar Allah, which has used cluster munitions. Pakistan has not commented on evidence that the Saudi-led coalition has used cluster munitions in Yemen, while a 2016 statement by the coalition forces did not deny the use of cluster munitions and argued that “international law does not ban the use of cluster munitions.” [17]

Policy

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.

In December 2018, Pakistan stated it “supports the humanitarian objectives of this Convention and is guided by humanitarianism and respect for international humanitarian law and protection of civilian life. Pakistan also stated that it “is supportive of an international legal instrument banning the transfer of antipersonnel landmines,” and that it believes “that the objective of the total elimination of antipersonnel mines can be promoted, inter alia, by making available non-lethal, militarily and cost effective alternate technologies.”[1]

Previously, Pakistan has stated that “landmines continue to play a significant role in the defence needs of many States. Given our security demands and the need to guard our long borders that are not protected by any natural obstacle, the use of landmines forms an important part of our self-defence strategy. The objective of the total elimination of anti-personnel landmines can best be promoted, inter alia, by making available non-lethal military and cost-effective alternative technologies.”[2] In March 2016, a representative of Pakistan stated that it will not be joining the Mine Ban Treaty because of India, and that Pakistan had previously laid mines along its border with India and would do so again, should it be necessary.[3]

Communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (now including areas previously known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) have previously demanded that the government clear their villages from landmines. In April 2018, an estimated 60,000 people joined a rally organized by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Peshawar calling for the removal of landmines from war-torn provinces along the Afghan frontier as one of their main grievances.[4] This followed a 10 day sit-in in front of the National Press Club Islamabad and came after a long march to Islamabad, also organized by the PTM, which demanded landmine clearance and compensation to landmine victims. The sit-in ended after the government agreed to both demands.[5] In September 2019, the Pakistan army claimed to have 100 teams in the field removing landmines which it states were planted by Tehrik-i-Taliban, and that much of the area is now clear.[6]

Pakistan participated as an observer in the Ottawa Process and the Mine Ban Treaty negotiations, but it has rarely engaged in the treaty since 1997 and has never attended a Review Conference. Pakistan has participated as an observer in six of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, including the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018. Pakistan has participated in few of the treaty’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva.

On 15 December 2018, Pakistan abstained from voting on United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 73/61 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has abstained on all previous annual UNGA resolutions in support of the treaty.

International Campaign to Ban Landmines partner in Pakistan, the Sustainable Peace and Development Organization, has called for comprehensive clearance in tribal areas and has called for coordination between the government and civil society in addressing the issue of landmines in FATA.[7]

Pakistan is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II.

Use

Landmine Monitor has received no reports of the Pakistan army emplacing landmines in 2018 or 2019. In November 2018, Pakistan reiterated that its use of landmines is exclusively by the military for defense purposes.[8]

However, in April 2019, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society stated that landmines planted by security personnel and by militants posed a threat to the lives of residents of Gandaw, Dawra, and Landi Kallay in Sipah and Sheen Kamar area near Mastak, all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.[9] In April 2016, a representative of Pakistan stated to the Monitor that the army has a policy not to use antipersonnel mines around its outposts in operations in FATA.[10]

Previously, following an increase in Pakistan army operations in the country’s border areas with Afghanistan in 2012, there were reports in the domestic media of new mine casualties in those areas. Media reports in 2012 and 2013 attributed the new casualties to use of mines by Pakistani forces for “security purposes,” but it is unclear if the mines were laid recently or in the past.[11] Subsequently, no new reports occurred since 2013 that were attributable to use by Pakistani forces. In February 2018, responding to public calls for mine clearance, an army official was quoted as saying, “No mines have been laid by Pakistan Army in South Waziristan Agency or [any other part of] FATA and none were sprinkled on [an] emergency basis. We continue to make efforts to demine all mines, IEDs and booby traps laid by terrorists.”[12] However, residents in some villages state that if they complain about the presence of mines, they are jailed.[13]

Pakistan reports annually that it has not laid mines since the Pakistan-India border mine-laying more than a decade ago.[14] That last confirmed large-scale use of antipersonnel mines by Pakistan took place between December 2001 and mid-2002, during the escalation of tensions with India.[15] Pakistan maintains permanent minefields along certain portions of the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. These previously laid mines continue to move during floods from the LoC into Pakistan.[16]

In November 2018, Pakistan stated it “has itself been a victim of the use of landmines, including as IEDs [improvised explosive devices], by terrorists and non-state actors. Notwithstanding their use by terrorists, Pakistan’s security forces do not use mines for the maintenance of internal order and law enforcement or in counter-terrorism operations.”[17] In April 2019, Pakistan stated that 232 incidents of use of explosive devices, resulting in casualties, occurred in locations throughout the country attributed to “terrorists.”[18] It is unknown how many of those incidents were due to improvised landmines.

Previously, in March 2017, Pakistan reconfirmed that antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, and IEDs have been used throughout the country, and attributed the use to “terrorists.”[19] In April 2016, a representative of Pakistan told the Monitor that 14% of recovered IEDs used by militants in Pakistan were victim activated. Militant groups’ victim-activated IEDs use pressure and infra-red initiation, and some also have low metal content detonators. In May 2018, Pakistan reported that more than one IED incident occurs per day.[20] In some cases, antipersonnel mines are used as detonators for larger explosive devices, or one initiator sets off multiple explosive devices. Pakistani security forces have recovered 194 tons of explosives from militants and 2,500 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines in recent years.[21]

In its CCW Amended Protocol II Annual report for 2018, Pakistan documented 438 instances of IED use in the year.[22] The report further provided that roughly half of these instances resulted in casualties.

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Balochistan and Khyber Paktunkhwa used improvised antipersonnel landmines during the reporting period, as attributed to a variety of unidentified militant groups and Balochi insurgent groups.[23] As in previous years, many military personnel and some civilians were killed or injured in incidents of new use, however, it is difficult to identify the perpetrators from available information. The Monitor has recorded numerous antipersonnel mine incidents in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, although in some cases the precise date of mine use cannot be ascertained, nor can the perpetrator be identified (see Casualties profile for more details). NSAGs also use antivehicle mines. Civilian and military casualties resulting from NSAG use of IEDs and landmines continues to be documented into 2019.[24]

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Pakistan is one of a small number of countries still producing antipersonnel mines.[25] Since 1997, Pakistan Ordnance Factories has produced detectable versions of hand-emplaced blast mines in order to be compliant with CCW Amended Protocol II.[26] In 2007, Pakistan reported that it “has also planned incorporation of self-destruct and self-deactivation mechanism in its future production” in order to meet Amended Protocol II requirements.[27] The protocol requires that all remotely-delivered mines have self-destruct and self-deactivation mechanisms. Pakistan reported in 2002 that it was developing a remotely-delivered antipersonnel mine system but has provided no further details.[28] In 2007, Pakistan also stated that it had “met the deadlines to improve the specifications on detectability of mines” to be compliant with CCW Amended Protocol II.[29]

Pakistan’s Statutory Regulatory Order No. 123 (1) of 25 February 1999 makes the export of antipersonnel mines illegal.[30] The law penalizes the importation of mines, but no data is available regarding whether anyone has been arrested or charged under this law. Pakistan states that it has not exported mines “since early 1992.”[31]

In December 2017, Pakistan stated that the private sector is not allowed to manufacture or to trade in landmines.[32] In November 2018, Pakistan stated that it “continues to scrupulously adhere to a policy of ban on all exports of mines, and ensures that the private sector is not allowed to manufacture or to trade in landmines.”[33] Previous Article 13 reports state simply that “no manufacturing or trade of landmines is allowed in the Private sectors.”[34] In the past, the country was a major exporter of mines. Pakistani-made mines have been found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sri Lanka.

There is no official information available on the size of Pakistan’s antipersonnel mine stockpile. In the past, the Monitor estimated that Pakistan stockpiles at least six million antipersonnel mines, the fifth-largest stockpile in the world.[35] Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied this estimate.

As in previous years, seizures of mines, among other weapons, have been reported.[36] Previously in February, in July 2017, and in November 2016, Pakistani officials seized landmines, among other weapons, in raids in Balochistan.[37]

Stockpile destruction

During 2018, Pakistan reported destroying 13,803 unserviceable antipersonnel mines, all of Pakistani manufacture.[38] Previously, in April 2016, a representative of Pakistan told the Monitor that all mines reported destroyed in the Article 13 reports are expiring stocks of antipersonnel mines. He further stated that all mines seized during operations in Pakistan by the security forces are destroyed and that “thousands” had been destroyed during previous years.[39]

During 2017, Pakistan reported destroying 955 antipersonnel mines; during 2016, 7,370 antipersonnel mines; during 2015, 1,429 antipersonnel mines; during 2014, 2,944 antipersonnel mines of Pakistani origin; during 2013, it destroyed 8,184 antipersonnel mines of Pakistani origin; and in 2012, Pakistan destroyed 2,107 antipersonnel mines of United States, Pakistani, and unknown origin.[40] In 2011, it destroyed 153 antipersonnel mines, and in 2010, Pakistan reported that a total of 43,248 antipersonnel mines were destroyed between 2000 and 2009.[41]

Contamination

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan remains heavily affected by mines and other ordnance from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979–1989) and three wars with India, as well as from more recent and continuing conflicts in areas bordering Afghanistan, including, in particular, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

In 2017, Pakistan reiterated past statements that it “faces no problem of uncleared mines.” It again acknowledged that the army laid mines on its eastern border with India during an escalation of tensions in 2001–2002, but stated those mines were all cleared and that no mines have since been laid.[1] However, it has reported that attacks by non-state armed groups again employed improvised antipersonnel and antivehicle mines during 2017.[2]

Programme Management

Pakistan has no formal civilian mine action programme. Pakistani military engineering units are believed to be responsible for mine clearance in conflict zones, while the Frontier Constabulary has said it conducts mine clearance in contaminated areas of Baluchistan, FATA, and other conflict zones in the North-West Frontier Province.[3]

Land Release

There are no reports of formal land release in 2017. Pakistan said that in 2017 the army destroyed 955 “unserviceable” antipersonnel mines.[4]

Casualties Overview

In 2016, the Monitor identified 161 casualties from mines/ERW, including victim-activated IEDs, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Half of all casualties (80) in 2016 were civilians. At least 27 were children. Military and security forces (including militia and militants) represented the remaining 81 recorded casualties. The 2016 figures were calculated from the database of Sustainable Peace and Development Organization (SPADO), which included at least 309 media-reported casualties of mines/ERW, IEDs, and hand grenades in Pakistan for 2016; 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 improvised landmines (victim-activated IEDs and toy-like booby traps) as well as ERW including abandoned ordnance (AXO).[1]

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 98% of all mine/ERW casualties in Pakistan in 2015.[2]

The 2016 casualty total represented a slight increase from the 132 mine/ERW casualties recorded in 2015, however it remained on a similar overall downward trajectory since a very significant drop in the total number of annual casualties from the 569 mine/ERW casualties identified in 2011. Given the considerable variation in the availability of annual casualty data over time, however, 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.[3]

Due to the lack of official data or a comprehensive data-collection mechanism, the total number of casualties in Pakistan is not known. However, between 1999 and 2016, the Monitor identified at least 4,342 (1,644 killed; 2,605 injured; 93 unknown) from landmines, improvised mines (victim-activated IEDs), and ERW.[4] It is likely that the total number of casualties is much higher.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

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]

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.