Islamabad airport becomes Pakistan’s first to introduce measures for passengers with mental disability

Immigration officers check documents of passengers before they board a flight at the Islamabad International Airport on January 10, 2025. (AFP/File)
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Updated 11 April 2025
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Islamabad airport becomes Pakistan’s first to introduce measures for passengers with mental disability

  • Sunflower ribbons issued to eligible passengers will ensure preferential treatment at all counters
  • HRW estimates number of people living with disabilities in Pakistan varies from 3.3 million to 27 million

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Airport has introduced a special facility for passengers with “mental disorders,” the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said this week, making it the first airport in the country to offer such services.

This move aligns with international trends in making air travel more inclusive and reflects growing awareness in Pakistan about mental health needs, particularly in high-stress environments like airports.

“Islamabad International Airport is honored to provide special facilities to passengers with mental disorders,” the CAA said in a statement.

A special sunflower ribbon will be issued to people with “invisible disabilities,” the CAA said, so that they were eligible for “preferential facilities at every counter.”

“Children with autism and other mental disorders are benefiting from the facility,” the statement added. 

According to Human Rights Watch, estimates of the number of people living with disabilities in Pakistan wildly vary from 3.3 million to 27 million.

Pakistan has enacted a Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities. 

The Pakistani government has implemented policies and programs, including the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (2002) and the National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities (2006), aimed at addressing the needs of people with disabilities. 

Several organizations, including the National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (NCRDP), provincial councils, and disability-focused NGOs, are working to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Pakistan.


Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

Updated 02 March 2026
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Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

  • Around 435 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, over 630 injured in Pakistani military offensive, minister says
  • Several countries, global bodies have urged both sides to exercise restraint since the conflict began last week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army struck a drone storage facility and ammunition depot of Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad, a Pakistani security official said on Monday, following Pakistani strikes on more than 50 locations in Afghanistan amid ongoing hostilities between the neighbors.

Pakistan launched Operation ‘Ghazb lil Haq’ against Afghanistan on the night of Feb. 26 following an attack by Afghanistan on Pakistani military installations along their shared border.

The worst fighting between the two neighbors in years erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad called militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on Feb. 21-22, accusing Kabul of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants behind the attacks on its soil. Afghanistan denies the charge.

A Pakistani security official, who requested anonymity, said the army was continuing “strong retaliatory action” against the Afghan Taliban and blew up multiple border posts, forcing them to abandon their positions.

“Pakistan forces are effectively targeting the bases and military installations of the Fitna Al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban,” he said.

“During the effective counter-operation of the Pakistani forces, the ammunition depot and drone storage site of Fitna Al-Khawarij (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad was destroyed.”

Separately, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said more than 400 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and over 630 wounded in the Pakistani military offensive so far.

Pakistan destroyed around 188 check posts and captured 31, according to a post on X by Tarar. Over 180 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed in Pakistani air raids at 51 locations across Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Pakistani state media shared a video of what it said were Pakistani soldiers crossing into Afghanistan in the northwest to capture an Afghan post. Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area of Afghanistan, another Pakistani security official said.

Afghan officials earlier said that dozens of Pakistani soldiers had been killed and several Pakistan posts had been captured by their forces. None of the casualty figures or battlefield claims from either side could be independently verified.

Since the conflict began last week, diplomatic efforts have intensified, with several countries and international bodies calling on both sides to exercise restraint.

The United Nations, along with China and Russia, has called for calm, while US President Donald Trump said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.