Pakistan
Practice Relating to Rule 1. The Principle of Distinction between Civilians and Combatants
Pakistan’s Army Act (1952) defines the “enemy” as including “all armed mutineers, armed rebels, armed rioters, pirates and any person in arms against whom it is the duty of any person subject to the Act to act”.
In 1996, during a debate in the UN Security Council on the situation in Lebanon, Pakistan condemned “the targeting and killing of civilian populations”.
The Report on the Practice of Pakistan states that it is Pakistan’s
opinio juris that direct attacks on civilians are prohibited.
The report adds that the Pakistani Government has regularly denounced attacks against civilians in conflict situations and cites as an example the strong condemnation of the Israeli attacks on the camps of Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982.