EASO COI Report. Security situation - update

English

The report aims to provide an update on the security situation in Pakistan, which is relevant for international protection status determination (refugee status and subsidiary protection).

This report was drafted by a Country of Origin Information (COI) specialist from the Belgian Center for Documentation and Research (Cedoca) in the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS).

This report is an update of the EASO COI report Pakistan Security Situation first published in August 2015, updated in July 2016, and in August 2017. This report presents general information available from 1 June 2017 to 15 August 2018.

The information in this report results from desk research of public specialised paper-based and electronic sources, which were consulted within the time frame and the scope of the research. The Cedoca researcher, a specialist on Pakistan, conducted extensive interviews with the following experts:

- Matthew Nelson, Reader in Politics, PhD, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, telephone interview, 15 June 2018

- Michael Kugelman, Asia Program Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (United States), Skype interview, 14 June 2018

- Mohammad Amir Rana, Security and Political Analyst and director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), Skype interview, 14 June 2018.

This report provides information on elements and indicators that may help in assessing the need for protection. The first part gives a general description on the security situation in Pakistan. The second part explains the security situation per province in more detail. A general description of the province contains information on the geography and population, and on the background of the conflict, including the actors active in the province. A description of the recent trends of the security situation provides information on quantitative (numbers) and qualitative information (examples and description of trends). A sub-chapter focuses on the nature of the violence, frequency, targets, locations, and descriptions of incidents within a timeframe from 1 June 2017 until 15 August 2018. Another sub-chapter includes information about civilian casualties. A final sub-chapter describes population displacements.

The following national asylum and migration departments have contributed by reviewing the report:

- The Netherlands, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis

- Hungary, Office of Immigration and Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Office Documentation Centre

- Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation

- Sweden, Migration Agency, Lifos – Centre for Country of Origin Information and Analysis

This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology.

Policy

The security and human rights situation in Pakistan is problematic. Many citizens of Pakistan are being exposed to ethno-political or sectarian violence and the Pakistani authorities are often unable or unwilling to offer protection. The majority of the violence in Pakistan can be attributed to the terror organisations that are active in the country. The terror organisations primarily target members of the security services and the army, members of religious minorities and the police force. In addition, Pakistan sometimes sees large-scale attacks aiming to cause a maximum number of casualties within a specific community. Religious minorities, primarily Shi’a Muslims, are generally targeted. However, such attacks are rather the exception than the rule. The security situation in the country is further influenced by the armed conflict between extremist elements and government troops in the north-west of the country as well as by the nationalist uprising in Baluchistan.

Land: 
Pakistan

Information about the asylum procedure, tailored to the asylum seeker, can be found at : asyluminbelgium.be.