European Asylum Support Office Pakistan Security situation Country of Origin Information Report Country of Origin Information Report October 2019 SUPPORT IS OUR MISSION European Asylum Support Office Pakistan Security situation Country of Origin Information Report October 2019 More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). ISBN: 978-92-9485-057-7 doi: 10.2847/478022 © European Asylum Support Office (EASO) 2019 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, unless otherwise stated. For third-party materials reproduced in this publication, reference is made to the copyrights statements of the respective third parties. Cover photo: © Shankar, S., India-Pakistan border at Wagah, near Amritsar, India, November 2017, url EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT: PAKISTAN - SECURITY SITUATION — 3 Acknowledgements EASO would like to acknowledge the Belgian Centre for Documentation and Research (Cedoca) in the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, as the drafter of this report. Furthermore, the following national asylum and migration departments have contributed by reviewing the report: Austria, Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, Country of Origin Information Department The Netherlands, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis Poland, Country of Origin Information Unit, Department for Refugee Procedures, Office for Foreigners Swedish Migration Agency, Section for Information Analysis The following external organisation reviewed this report: ACCORD – Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments, experts or organisations contributes to the overall quality of the report, but does not necessarily imply their formal endorsement of the final report, which is the full responsibility of EASO. 4 — EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATTION REPORT: PAKISTAN: SECURITY SITUATION Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 3 Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Disclaimer ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Glossary and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ 7 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 12 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 12 Sources ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Structure and use of this report ................................................................................................... 14 Map ............................................................................................................................................. 16 1. General description of the security situation in Pakistan .......................................................... 17 1.1. Overview of recent conflicts in Pakistan ................................................................................ 17 1.1.1. History of militant violence ........................................................................................ 17 1.1.2. Ethnic and sectarian violence ..................................................................................... 18 1.1.3. Political landscape ..................................................................................................... 19 1.1.4. International context ................................................................................................. 20 1.2. Actors in the conflict ............................................................................................................. 22 1.2.1. State forces ................................................................................................................ 22 1.2.2. Armed Groups ........................................................................................................... 24 1.3. Recent security trends and armed confrontations ................................................................. 36 1.3.1. Security operations and armed clashes ...................................................................... 38 1.3.2. Attacks by militant groups.......................................................................................... 39 1.3.3. Sectarian-related violence.......................................................................................... 41 1.3.4. Political violence ........................................................................................................ 41 1.3.5. Border attacks ........................................................................................................... 41 1.3.6. Drone strikes ............................................................................................................. 42 1.4. Impact of the violence on the civilian population .................................................................. 43 1.4.1. Figures on casualties in 2018 ...................................................................................... 43 1.4.2. Civilian casualties during 1 January - 31 July 2019 ...................................................... 45 1.4.3. Children ..................................................................................................................... 47 1.4.3. Internally Displaced Persons and refugees ................................................................. 48 1.5. State ability to secure law and order ..................................................................................... 49 1.5.1. Security forces ........................................................................................................... 49 1.5.2. Judiciary and legal system .......................................................................................... 52 1.5.3. Anti-Terrorism Acts and military courts ...................................................................... 53 EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT: PAKISTAN - SECURITY SITUATION — 5 1.5.4. Detention and death penalty ..................................................................................... 54 2. Security situation per region .................................................................................................... 56 2.1. Geographical overview of the violence 2018 – 31 July 2019 .................................................. 56 2.1.1. Trends in regional violence ........................................................................................ 56 2.1.2. Regional comparison of violence-related casualties ................................................... 58 2.2. Security trends per geographic subdivision............................................................................ 60 2.2.1. Punjab ....................................................................................................................... 60 2.2.2. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including former FATA) ........................................................... 63 2.2.3. Balochistan ................................................................................................................ 72 2.2.4. Sindh ......................................................................................................................... 76 2.2.5. Islamabad Capital Territory ........................................................................................ 78 2.2.6. Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan ............................................................................... 79 Annex I: Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 83 Annex II: Terms of Reference ..................................................................................................... 114 6 — EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATTION REPORT: PAKISTAN: SECURITY SITUATION Disclaimer This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (June 2019).1 The report is based on carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced. To the extent possible and unless otherwise stated, all information presented, except for undisputed or obvious facts, has been cross-checked. The information contained in this report has been researched, evaluated and analysed with utmost care. However, this document does not claim to be exhaustive. If a particular event, person or organisation is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken place or that the person or organisation does not exist. Furthermore, this report is not conclusive as to the determination or merit of any particular application for international protection. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of a particular legal position. ‘Refugee’, ‘risk’ and similar terminology are used as a generic terminology and not in the legal sense as applied in the EU Asylum Acquis, the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating