Summary: Non-signatory Pakistan acknowledges the harm caused by cluster munitions, but views them as legitimate weapons that should not be banned. Pakistan participated as an observer in meetings of the convention for the first time in 2015 and again in 2016. However, it abstained from the vote on a key United Nations (UN) resolution on the convention in December 2017.

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.

In October 2017, Pakistan reiterated its opposition to treaties concluded outside the UN framework and said that cluster munitions should be negotiated via the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).[1] 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. The failure effectively ended CCW deliberations on the topic and has left the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole international instrument to specifically address the human suffering caused by these weapons.

Pakistan has often 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.[2]

Pakistan participated as an observer in the First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015, where it expressed support for “international efforts to address the issue of irresponsible and indiscriminate use of cluster munitions,” but affirmed that “Pakistan considers cluster munitions as 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 in the convention’s First Review Conference and convention’s intersessional meetings in 2015 and the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2016. It has not attended any meetings of the convention since 2016.

In October 2017, Pakistan told the UN General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee on Disarmament and International Security that it would again abstain from the vote on a UNGA resolution that calls on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible” because, Pakistan said, “we consider cluster munitions to be legitimate weapons with recognized military utility.”[5]

That comment is repeated in previous statements by Pakistan in 2015 and 2016 upon abstaining from the previous UNGA resolutions promoting implementation of the convention.[6]

Pakistan is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is party to the CCW.[7]

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

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

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 September 2011, the London-based arms expo Defence & Security Equipment international (DSEi) closed the POF stand and Pakistan’s Defence Export Promotion Organisation pavilion after promotional material was found at both locations listing the 155mm extended range (base bleed) DPICM cluster munition available for sale.[11] Pakistani authorities reportedly said the cluster munitions were not offered for sale by Pakistan at DSEi.[12] Similar concerns were raised when POF advertised the same 155mm DPICM cluster munition during the 2009 DSEi arms fair.[13]

Jane’s Information Group reports that the Pakistan Air Weapons Center produces 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 states that the Pakistan National Development Complex produces and markets the Hijara Top-Attack Submunitions Dispenser (TSD-1) cluster bomb.It lists the Pakistan air force as possessing BL-755 cluster bombs.[14] The US transferred 200 Rockeye cluster bombs to Pakistan at some point between 1970 and 1995.[15]

As an interim step towards acceding to the convention, Human Rights Watch has urged Pakistan to institute a prohibition on the transfer of cluster munitions, as it has done with a long-standing export moratorium on antipersonnel landmines.[16] In June 2015, a government representative informed the Monitor that there are no plans to put in place an export moratorium on cluster munitions.[17]

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

Use

Pakistan has stated several times that it has never used cluster munitions.[18]

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 December 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.”[19]

Policy

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

In December 2017, Pakistan stated it “supports the humanitarian objectives of the Ottawa Convention.”[1] Pakistan also reiterated its view “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] 

In September 2017, Pakistan’s Parliamentary Committee on SAFRON (State and Frontier Regions) urged the government to establish a fund for the victims of landmines. The committee expressed discontentment that at least 50 people have died and hundreds of others have been injured in landmine incidents only in South Waziristan agency. It noted that according to a rough estimate, about 10,000 landmines are in the Mehsud inhabited area, which need to be removed before they claim further lives.[4] 

Popular actions regarding mine contamination in the country have begun to occur with greater frequency. 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.[5] 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.[6] Newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan met with PTM leaders after the sit-in and promised to address the landmine issue and other demands of the movement.[7] 

Communities in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have previously demanded the government clear their villages from landmines. A tribal “jirga”—a traditional assembly of tribal elders—was held on 14 September 2017, in which community leaders stated that if the landmines were not removed from their communities, they would protest against the government in front of the parliament. Additionally, the jirga asked the government to approve a compensation package for the victims of landmines in South Waziristan agency.[8] A similar jirga occurred on 15 November 2016 in the Mehsud tribe, and also asked the government to take measures to address the issue of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in their area.[9] 

In December 2017, in Balochistan, landmine victims from Dera Bugti protested in front of the press club in Quetta with the demand of compensation and jobs for landmine victims. Balochistan’s Chief and Interior Ministers met with the landmine victims and assured them of action and distributed funds among victims on the spot.[10] 

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 five of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, including the Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties in Vienna in December 2017, where it made a statement. Pakistan has participated in few of the treaty’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva.

On 4 December 2017, Pakistan abstained from voting on United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 72/53 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. It 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 called for coordination between the government and civil society in addressing the issue of landmines in FATA.[11] 

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 2017 or 2018. In December 2017, Pakistan stated that the use of landmines is exclusively by the military for defense purposes.[12] 

Pakistan reports annually that it has not laid mines since the Pakistan-India border mine-laying more than a decade ago.[13] 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.[14] 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 cause casualties in villages along the LoC.[15] 

In December 2017, 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.”[16] 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.”[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] 

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.[20] Previously, following an increase in Pakistan army operations in the country’s border areas with Afghanistan in 2012, there were reports in the domestic Pakistani 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.[21] Subsequently, no new reports occurred since 2013 that were attributable to use by Pakistani forces. In February 2018, responding to public agitation 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.”[22] However, residents in some villages state that if they complain about the presence of mines, they are jailed.[23] 

Non-state armed groups in Balochistan and FATA use antipersonnel landmines and other victim-activated explosive devices during the reporting period. Use is attributed to a variety of militant groups under the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan banner and Balochi insurgent groups.[24] As in previous years, many military personnel and some civilians were killed or injured in incidents of new use, mostly by unknown perpetrators. The Monitor has recorded numerous antipersonnel mine incidents in Balochistan, FATA, 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). Non-state armed groups also use antivehicle mines.

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] Previous Article 13 reports state simply that “no manufacturing or trade of landmines is allowed in the Private sectors.”[33] 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.[34] Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied this estimate.

As in previous years, seizures of mines, among other weapons, have been reported.[35] Previously in February and July 2017 and November 2016, Pakistani officials seized landmines, among other weapons, in raids in Balochistan.[36] 

Destruction

During 2017, Pakistan reported destroying 955 unserviceable antipersonnel mines, all of Pakistani manufacture.[37] 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.[38] 

Previously, during 2016, Pakistan reported destroying 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.[39] 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.[40] 

Pakistan reiterated that there is no problem of uncleared mines on its eastern border.[41] However, in July 2017, members of the Pakistan security forces were killed and injured in mine clearance operations near Landi Kotall in FATA.[42] Pakistani authorities had to halt repatriation of some communities after conflict due to the presence of landmines.[43] The Pakistan Red Crescent Society declares FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to be weapon-contaminated areas, as significant amounts of ERW remain in these areas, placing the local population at risk.[44] 

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.