Summary

Non-signatory Pakistan has acknowledged the humanitarian concerns raised by cluster munitions but has not taken any steps to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as it regards them as legitimate weapons. Pakistan last participated in a meeting of the convention in 2016. It abstained from the vote on a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2021.

Pakistan produces and stockpiles cluster munitions and has likely exported them. Pakistan has stated that it has never used cluster munitions. In 2019, Pakistan alleged that India used cluster munitions in the contested region of Kashmir.

Policy

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

Pakistan has expressed concern at the “irresponsible and indiscriminate use of cluster munitions,” and “condemns the use of cluster munitions against civilian populations and people under illegal occupation.”[1] However, Pakistan has not taken any steps to accede to the convention due to its long-standing objections to key provisions and over the way it was adopted. In November 2021, Pakistan said it “does not support the conclusion of important international treaties, especially those related to arms control and disarmament, such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, concluded outside the UN framework.”[2] In 2015, Pakistan told States Parties that it considers cluster munitions to be “legitimate weapons with recognized military value in our regional context.”[3]

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

Pakistan has participated as an observer in meetings of the convention, but not since 2016.[5] It was invited to, but did not attend, the convention’s Second Review Conference held in November 2020 and September 2021.

In December 2021, Pakistan abstained from the vote on a key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution which urged states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[6] Pakistan has abstained from voting on the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015. Each year, Pakistan says it has abstained from the vote because it considers cluster munitions to be “legitimate weapons with recognized military utility.”[7]

Pakistan is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Pakistan is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), and expressed regret that States Parties to the CCW failed to conclude a protocol on cluster munitions in 2011. The end of CCW deliberations on the topic left the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole international instrument specifically addressing the human suffering caused by these weapons. Pakistan has not proposed any new CCW work on cluster munitions since 2016, but regularly reiterates that the CCW is “the most appropriate forum” for considering the concerns raised by cluster munitions.[8]

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.[9] POF entered into a licensed production agreement with South Korean company Poongsan in 2004 to co-produce K-310 155mm extended-range DPICM projectiles in Pakistan, at Wah Cantonment.[10] The Pakistan Army took delivery of the first production lots in 2008.[11]

The POF stand at the 2011 Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair in London, United Kingdom (UK), was closed after it displayed promotional materials listing 155mm extended range (base bleed) DPICM cluster munitions for sale.[12] POF advertised the same 155mm DPICM cluster munition at the 2009 DSEI arms fair, raising similar concerns for the UK as a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[13]

According to Jane’s Information Group, the Pakistan Air Weapons Center has produced the Programmable Submunitions Dispenser (PSD-1), which is similar to the United States (US) Rockeye cluster bomb and dispenses 225 anti-armor submunitions. Jane’s Information Group also lists the Pakistan National Development Complex as producing the Hijara Top-Attack Submunitions Dispenser (TSD-1) cluster bomb and has reported that the Pakistan Air Force possesses UK-made BL-755 cluster bombs.[14] The US transferred 200 Rockeye cluster bombs to Pakistan between 1970 and 1995.[15]

Pakistan has not responded to calls to institute a prohibition on the transfer of cluster munitions, but has a long-standing export moratorium in place for antipersonnel landmines.[16]

Pakistan possesses cluster munitions, but has not shared information on the quantities or types stockpiled.

Use

Pakistan has stated several times that it has never used cluster munitions.[17]

Pakistan alleges that India used cluster munitions in the contested region of Kashmir on 30–31 July 2019 during an attack that reportedly killed two civilians, including a four-year-old boy, and injured 11 others.[18] The Pakistan Army released photographs showing DPICM-type submunitions from artillery-delivered cluster munitions. Pakistan’s president, foreign minister, and other high-ranking officials condemned the alleged cluster munition use for violating international law.[19]

India denied using cluster munitions in the attack, and the Indian Army issued a statement asserting the “allegations of firing of cluster bombs by India is yet another Pakistan’s lie and deception.”[20]

The Monitor was not able to conclusively determine if cluster munitions were used or whether India was responsible for any use.

Policy

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

In November 2021, Pakistan repeated, as it has in previous years, that “Landmines continue to play a significant role in meeting the military needs of many States. Given the security concerns and the need to guard long borders, which are not protected by any natural obstacle, reliance on landmines is an integral part of Pakistan’s defence.”[1]

Pakistan stated in December 2018 that 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 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.”[2]

In March 2016, a representative of Pakistan stated that it would 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]

Pakistan participated as an observer during the Ottawa Process and at the Mine Ban Treaty negotiations in 1996–1997, but has rarely engaged on the treaty since then and has not attended any of its four review conferences. Pakistan participated as an observer at six of the convention’s meetings of States Parties, most recently in November 2018. Pakistan has participated in few of the treaty’s intersessional meetings.

On 6 December 2021, Pakistan abstained from voting on annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 76/26, which called for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Pakistan has abstained from voting on all previous annual UNGA resolutions promoting the treaty.[4]

In April 2021, at the Security Council, Pakistan called for the strengthening of international mine action cooperation, to counter the threat posed by mines and other explosive ordnance to civilians and infrastructure.[5]

In June 2021, citizens of South Waziristan and North Waziristan districts, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, staged a sit-in protest in Makeen, to demand that the government clear landmines from these areas. The protesters asked the government to provide compensation for families and remove mines from both districts.[6] In June 2021, members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly also expressed concern about the killing and maiming of children in mine explosions in tribal districts of North Waziristan and South Waziristan, and demanded that the authorities demine the region.[7]

In September 2021, popular discontent over continued casualties prompted mine victims in South Waziristan to block roads in protest, while demanding that authorities provide financial assistance and employment for victims, and compensation to families whose relatives had died due to mines.[8]

Previously, communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including areas formerly known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), demanded that the government clear their villages. In April 2018, around 60,000 people joined a rally organized by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Peshawar, calling for the removal of mines from war-torn provinces along the border with Afghanistan.[9] This followed a march and a 10-day sit-in protest in front of the National Press Club of Islamabad, also organized by PTM, which demanded mine clearance and compensation for victims. The protest ended after the government agreed to both demands.^[10]

On 28 December 2021, the Sustainable Peace and Development Organization (SPADO)—ICBL’s partner in Pakistan—held an event in Islamabad to present the Monitor’s 2021 country profile on Pakistan.[11]

Pakistan is not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, but has not submitted an annual Article 13 transparency report in either 2021 or 2022.

Use

The Monitor received no reports of the Pakistan Army emplacing landmines in 2020 or 2021. In November 2018, Pakistan reiterated that its use of landmines is exclusively by the military for defense purposes.[12]

However, in April 2019, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated that mines emplaced by security personnel and militants over the years posed a threat to the lives of residents in Gandaw, Dawra, and Landi Kallay in Sipah, and in Sheen Kamar near Mastak, all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.[13] 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 FATA.[14]

Previously, after an increase in Pakistan Army operations along the border with Afghanistan in 2012, there were media reports 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 whether the mines had been laid recently or in the past.[15] Subsequently, no new reports occurred since 2013 that were attributable to use by Pakistani forces.

In February 2018, responding to public calls for landmine 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.”[16] Residents in some villages stated that if they complained about the presence of mines, they were at risk of being jailed.[17]

Pakistan previously reported that it had not laid mines since emplacing them on the border with India more than a decade ago.[18] That last confirmed large-scale use of antipersonnel mines by Pakistan took place between December 2001 and mid-2002, during an escalation of tensions with India.[19] 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.[20]

In November 2018, Pakistan stated that 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.”[21] In March 2020, Pakistan reported that 187 incidents of use of explosive devices, resulting in casualties, had occurred in locations throughout the country during 2019, attributing these incidents to “terrorists.”[22] It is unknown how many of these incidents were due to improvised landmines.

In its CCW Amended Protocol II report for 2019, Pakistan documented 349 instances of IED use during the calendar year.[23] The report further stated that roughly half of these instances had resulted in casualties. In April 2016, a representative of Pakistan told the Monitor that 14% of recovered IEDs used by militants in Pakistan were victim-activated. Victim-activated IEDs used by militants in Pakistan use pressure and infra-red initiation, and some also have low metal content detonators. In some cases, antipersonnel mines are used as detonators for larger explosive devices, or one initiator sets off multiple explosive devices. In 2016, Pakistan reported having recovered 194 tons of explosives and 2,500 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from militants in recent years.[24]

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have previously used antipersonnel landmines.[25] In April and October 2020, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for mines laid in Kohlu district, Balochistan province, which killed one soldier and left another injured near a Pakistan Army outpost in the Kalgari mountains in Kohistan Marri. The spokesman was quoted as saying the BLA had planted mines near the security teams of oil and gas companies and against the Pakistani security forces.[26] There is some evidence that the BLA has imported factory-made antipersonnel landmines.[27] In April and November 2021, Pakistani forces displayed antipersonnel landmines seized from the BLA.[28] In January 2020, an unknown group laid at least 26 improvised antipersonnel mines on the grounds of a rural college in Khar Tehsil, Bajaur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan.[29] In early 2021, there were reports of casualties due to explosive devices placed within toys or other household type items, which exploded upon being handled.[30]

In June 2021, the office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Islamabad expressed its concern over landmines laid in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, after an antipersonnel landmine killed three children and left another two injured. This use was not attributed, but UNICEF called on the authorities to remove landmines.[31]

As in previous years, many military personnel and some civilians were killed or injured in incidents of new mine use; however, it is difficult to identify the perpetrators from the available information. Media monitoring by SPADO in 2021–2022 found that 13% of explosive incidents were attributed to antipersonnel landmines, down from 20% in 2020–2021.[32] The precise date of use in relation to reported incidents could often not be ascertained. NSAGs have also used antivehicle landmines in Pakistan. Civilian and military casualties resulting from the use of IEDs and landmines by NSAGs continued to be documented into 2021.[33]

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Pakistan is one of a small number of countries still producing antipersonnel mines.[34] Since 1997, Pakistan Ordnance Factories has produced detectable versions of hand-emplaced blast mines in order to be compliant with CCW Amended Protocol II.[35] In 2007, Pakistan reported that it “has also planned [the] incorporation of self-destruct and self-deactivation mechanism[s] in its future production,” in order to meet CCW Amended Protocol II requirements.[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]

Pakistan’s Statutory Regulatory Order No. 123 (1), of 25 February 1999, makes the export of antipersonnel landmines illegal.[39] The law also penalizes the importation of antipersonnel mines. No data is available on whether anyone has been arrested or charged under this law. Pakistan states that it has not exported mines “since early 1992.”[40]

In December 2017, Pakistan stated that the private sector is not allowed to manufacture or trade in landmines.[41] 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.”[42] Previous CCW Article 13 reports submitted by Pakistan state simply that “no manufacturing or trade of landmines is allowed in the Private sectors.”[43] In the past, the country was a major exporter of landmines. 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 has estimated that Pakistan stockpiles at least six million antipersonnel mines—the fifth-largest stockpile in the world.[44] Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied this estimate.

In previous years, seizures of landmines from NSAGs in Pakistan have been regularly reported.[45] In May 2021, authorities seized an unknown number of landmines, among other weapons, in the Dera Bugti district of Balochistan province.[46] In July 2020, the Frontier Corps seized an unknown number of improvised landmines in the Kech district of Balochistan.[47]

Stockpile destruction

Pakistan has not provided updated information on stockpile destruction for 2020 or 2021. During 2019, Pakistan reported destroying 15,925 unserviceable antipersonnel landmines, all of Pakistani manufacture.[48] Previously, in April 2016, a representative of Pakistan told the Monitor that all landmines reported destroyed in its CCW Article 13 reports were expiring stocks of antipersonnel mines. The representative 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.[49]

Antipersonnel landmines destroyed by Pakistan[50]

Note : N/R=not reported.

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.