Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday said that no NGO [non-government organisation] working against the country’s national interest will be allowed to continue its work in Pakistan.
Addressing reporters, Nisar said that some NGOs were performing out of their respective domains and they should be probed. “We formulated a plan last year to regulate the functioning of NGOs in the country.”
The statement comes a day after authorities ordered the international aid group Save the Children to leave Pakistan, claiming that the charity was “working against the country”.
The interior minister said that they had been receiving intelligence reports for many years but no action was being taken. NGOs, whose numbers run into hundreds, have been operating without any code of conduct, law and agenda, he said. “We don’t want to put ban on any NGO but we want to compel them to work under their charter,” Khan said.
The interior minister also appealed to all international NGOs and governments to respect the laws of Pakistan. He said that the government will not bear any kind of foreign pressure regarding the working criteria of the NGOs.
Nisar said two NGOs registered in Zambia and Guinea respectively which were operating in Pakistan without any permit and reporting stories from Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan which were based on lies. He said when the matter was contested in the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), all but three of the 15 member countries had supported Pakistan’s stance. The interior minister named the United States, Israel and India as countries supporting the illegal activities of NGOs in Pakistan.
“I will highlight the issues of illegal NGOs in the parliament as the government cannot compromise on national interest,” he added.
The interior minister said that the government will welcome NGOs working according to plan by following the law of the land while the government will also facilitate the NGOs working according to their charter.
Khan also said that the implementation on capital punishment is in accordance with the law while criticism against judiciary will not be tolerated in this regard.
