Mine ban policy overview

Policy

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

In November 2013, Pakistan repeated its 2012 statement that it “remains committed to pursue the objectives of a universal and non-discriminatory ban on anti-personnel mines in a manner which takes into account the legitimate defence requirements of States. Given our security compulsions and the need to guard our long borders, not protected by any natural obstacle, the use of landmines forms an important part of our self-defence strategy. As such, it is not possible for Pakistan to agree to the demands for the complete prohibition of anti-personnel landmines till such time that viable alternatives are available.”[1]

Pakistan participated as an observer in the Ottawa Process meetings and the Mine Ban Treaty negotiations, but it has rarely engaged in the treaty since 1997. It has never attended a Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty and has participated as an observer in just a handful of Meetings of States Parties. Its attendance at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2013 marked its first participation in a Mine Ban Treaty meeting since 2008. Pakistan has participated in few of the treaty’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva.

On 5 December 2013, Pakistan abstained from voting on UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 68/30 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has abstained on all previous annual UNGA resolutions in support of the treaty.

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 on landmines and submitted a CCW Protocol II Article 13 report in April 2014, covering the calendar year 2013.

Use

Following an increase in Pakistan Army operations in the country’s border areas with Afghanistan in 2012, there have been 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.[2] In September 2013, a woman and her daughter were killed by an antipersonnel mine reportedly laid by Pakistani forces near a military post in the Harank area of Sui district Dera Bugti.[3] Another media report on a variety of casualties in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) noted “some security forces have also planted mines to secure their check posts from militants.”[4]

As recently as March 2014, Pakistan stated that it has not laid mines since the Pakistan-India border mine-laying more than a decade ago.[5] 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, when Pakistan laid very large numbers of mines along their shared border.[6] Pakistan maintains permanent minefields along certain portions of the Line of Control that divides Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan states that antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, and improvised explosive devices have been used throughout the country, and attributes the use to “terrorists.”[7] In January 2014, two members of a village militia group were killed by an antipersonnel mine as they approached an outpost. It is not known if the mine was planted by the militia or militants of Lashkar-i-Islam, near the Aman Lashkar bunker in the Kata Kanri area of Bazaar Zakhakhel of Landi Kotal Tehsil, FATA.[8]

As in previous years, several other civilians were killed or injured in what appeared to be incidents of new use by unknown perpetrators. The Monitor has registered numerous antipersonnel mine incidents in Balochistan, FATA, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa although in some cases the precise date of mine use cannot be ascertained (see Casualties profile). The Pakistan Army and security forces have been engaged in armed conflict in these areas of the country with the Pakistani Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Baloch insurgents.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Pakistan is one of a small number of countries still producing antipersonnel mines.[9] Since 1997, Pakistan Ordnance Factories has produced detectable versions of hand-laid blast mines in order to be compliant with CCW Amended Protocol II.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

Pakistan’s Statutory Regulatory Order No. 123 (1) of 25 February 1999 makes the export of antipersonnel mines illegal.[14] 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.”[15] Recent Article 13 reports state simply that “no manufacturing or trade of landmines is allowed in the Private sectors.”[16] 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.

In November and December 2013, Pakistani forces seized at least 4,050 antipersonnel mines, among other weapons near Chaman, Balochistan on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.[17]

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.[18] Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied this estimate.

Destruction

During 2013, Pakistan reported destroying 8,184 antipersonnel mines, all of Pakistani manufacture.[19] Previously, during 2012 Pakistan destroyed 2,107 antipersonnel mines of United States, Pakistani, and unknown origin.[20] In 2011, it destroyed 153 antipersonnel mines; in 2010, Pakistan reported that a total of 43,248 antipersonnel mines were destroyed between 2000 and 2009.[21] Pakistan has not indicated if these mines are expiring stocks or from seizures, or both. Pakistan reiterated that the mines emplaced “during escalation of 2001–2002 on Pakistan’s Eastern Border have been completely cleared/removed/destroyed.”[22]