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Senator Farhatullah asks govt to come out clean, place facts before parliament for discussion, debate
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‘Entrusting task of NGOs registration to police or secret agencies is alike asking wolf to guard lamb’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Senator Farhatullah Babar warned against any secret move to mainstream militant organisations which he said could spell disaster for peace in the region.
Speaking on an issue of public importance in the Senate, he said that the government to come out clean and place all facts before the parliament for discussion and debate. He said that he had no proof but several strange happenings recently were alarm bells that lent credence to the suspicion that something was afoot.
He said that the participation of the banned outfits in the recent elections in the NA-120 and in the NA-4, the emergence of the Milli Muslim League, the declaration by Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) to enter into electoral politics and the suspicious silence over the fate of Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Esan – the self-confessed murderer of the APS Peshawar children – indicated that something was cooking.
The lawmaker said that the mainstreaming of the militants involved in the killing of innocent people and launching deadly attacks in neighbouring countries would be seen as an act of provocation with disastrous consequences. He said that elements inimical to Pakistan would immediately seize upon it and accuse Islamabad of lending legitimacy to the violent non-state actors.
On another issue of the public importance, Senator Farhatullah drew attention towards the shrinking space of the civil society organisations and said that any policy about the NGOs must be based in legislation and not in executive orders.
He said that the civil society based on freedoms of association and freedom of expression was a valuable partner and not a threat to the state and regretted the enlargement of footprint of securities agencies in dealing with them. He said that statement by the state minister for interior affairs in the Senate two-days ago and the formal reply given to a question was a proof that secret state agencies were the final arbiters of which NGO be allowed to work.
“Entrusting the task of registration to police or secret agencies is alike asking the wolf to guard the lamb,” he said. He said that it has been claimed that the policy was based on Fatemi report but the report was never made public. He said that the government was happy with the NGOs that relieve the state of responsibility of building schools and hospitals.
“Indeed it is so favorably disposed of that even banned outfits are allowed to do it,” he pointed out. But it has a problem with those who uphold the rights of the people and those demanding justice, he said. “Civil society does not merely disburse charity. They also work to empower youth, women and minorities, combat hate speech and end corruption and promote rule of law,” he said.
“They are necessary because it means more participation. By reducing their space, we are rejecting peoples’ participation,” he pointed out. He said that the state policies dealing with the NGOs calls for discussion and debate among all the stakeholders and through legislation and cannot be left to the police, or interior or secret agencies, he said.
