COI News

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Country of Origin Information (COI) Report entitled ‘Pakistan security situation’. The report is an update of the security chapter of the EASO COI report on Pakistan, Country Overview, published in August 2015 and provides information relevant for the protection status determination of Pakistani asylum seekers.
In 2015, Pakistan ranked 5^th in the top countries of origin in the EU+ countries, with a total number of almost 48,000 applicants. Throughout 2016, the country maintained this ranking in the top countries of origin.
The EASO COI Report ‘Pakistan security situation’ provides a general description of the security situation in Pakistan, covering the following topics: a brief background on the conflict in the country; actors in the conflict; an overview of recent security trends; the impact of the violence on the state ability to secure law and order; the impact of the violence on the civilian population; and a geographical overview of the security situation.
The second part of the report provides a more detailed description of the security situation in different regions in Pakistan. In each regional chapter, a short description of the region is given, followed by a description of the security trends, the actors in the region and the impact of the violence on the population.
The main findings of the report include the continuation of the military operation called Zarb-e-Azb against militant groups in North Waziristan in 2016. The Pakistani army conducted airstrikes and ground operations. At the same time, militant or terrorist attacks continued to occur in Pakistan’s urban centres. It should be noted, however, that the numbers and civilian casualties decreased in 2015 compared to 2014. Also during the first quarter of 2016, the numbers of fatalities continued to decline. Nevertheless, targeted killings and drone strikes still took place. While the violence continued to displace people in some regions, in other regions displaced populations returned back home.
The report was drafted by a specialized researcher from the Belgian Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (Cedoca, Centre for Documentation and Research) in accordance with the EASO COI Report Methodology. It was also reviewed by experts from Austria, Hungary, EASO and UNHCR, in order to ensure the highest quality.
It is EASO’s intention to continue to produce such reports on important countries of origin and to update them on a regular basis in order to raise and harmonise COI standards in the EU and to further support the practical implementation of the Common European Asylum System.