Action against INGOs halted for now

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday denied that the decision to close aid organisation Save The Children had been withdrawn, saying that only the outfit’s office in Islamabad will remain shut.

Nisar did not give details on status of the organisation’s offices in other provinces.

Nisar, while talking to reporters in his chamber at the National Assembly, confirmed that the government had halted any further action against any INGOs given that the prime minister had formed a high level committee to finalise a regulatory framework for such organisations.

“We will not close any INGO or put any such organisation in red category until the final recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee formed by PM,” Nisar explained about the June 12 letter from the Ministry of Interior on suspending a previous order to shut down Save the Children.

Asked about the INGO’s suspected involvement in the Osama Bin Laden raid, Nisar said there was no evidence on record to support that claim. He added that Save the Children was a respected INGO which was registered in 1997, during the second Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, regime and in 2014 the organization’s ownership was spilt between three countries.

The interior minister added that many organisations are doing a good job and the government will facilitate such INGOs.

Nisar reiterated that all aid organisations operating in the country will be regularised and a registration checking process for this purpose would be introduced soon. He added said only the interior ministry can grant security clearance to a NGO while their monitoring is carried out by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD).

“Responsibility of registration of NGOs totally lies with the Economic Affairs Division and the ministry of interior only acts as a facilitator,” Nisar said, adding that there was a proposal to bring the control of NGOs under the interior ministry, as EAD was not relevant platform for this task.

PM FORMS COMMITTEE:

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Sharif directed the high level inter-ministerial committee set up to oversee operations of international non-government organisations (INGOs) to expeditiously review laws regulating INGOs working in Pakistan.

A meeting of the committee was held in Islamabad on Monday under the chairmanship of Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.

The committee, which has been set up to review laws and regulations regarding accreditation and working conditions of INGOs in Pakistan, has been directed by the premier to submit a report as soon as possible.

INGOs have come under the government’s radar after a 2012 Pakistan intelligence report linked aid group ‘Save the Children’ to Dr Shakeel Afridi, who the CIA allegedly used to carry out a fake vaccination programme as they searched for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Last week, authorities ordered closure of ‘Save the Children’ in Pakistan on grounds that the international aid group was “working against the country”.

But the orders were later suspended by the Ministry of Interior in a matter of days.