ISLAMABAD: Social and human-rights activists on Friday rejected the government’s assurance that it is operating an “open and transparent” policy for the registration of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs).
“The government has issued arbitrary orders of closure of international NGOs and there is no transparency in its registration process,” said Mohammad Tehseen, the director of South Asia Partnership Pakistan.
He challenged the government to press charges against NGOs that it alleges are involved in “anti-state activities.”
“Why doesn’t the government approach the courts against those NGOs involved in illegal activities?” he asked.
Tehseen, who has been campaigning for the right of NGOs to work freely in the country, claims that the crackdown on charity organizations is part of a government strategy to clamp down on dissent.
“The welfare organizations have been providing services to remote areas of Pakistan where the government has failed to initiate development projects,” he said. “Is the provision of clean drinking water, education and awareness of human rights to the people a crime?”
On Oct. 2 this year, the government rejected the registrations of 18 INGOs, giving them 60 days to wind up their operations and leave Pakistan. In June 2015, the then-Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed all INGOs in Pakistan to apply for full registeration with the ministry to continue working in the country. As a result, 141 organizations applied for registration, of which only 74 were approved.
While briefing a Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights last week, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Mohammad Siddique said that all INGOs were given the opportunity to explain their activities.
“All of the INGOs that have been directed to leave the country were given the opportunity of a personal hearing but they failed to satisfy the relevant officials about their workings,” he said.
Zaigham Khan, an analyst and human-rights activist, urged the government to satisfy the donors’ community about the banning of the INGOs and to improve the transparency of the process.
“The Pakistani authorities will have to face difficult questions at international forums such as the United Nations about its purported crackdown against NGOs and human-rights activists if it fails to bring transparency in its working,” he said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday said that the government was pursuing an “open and transparent” INGO policy “which is underpinned by national laws, rules and regulations,” and that “the evidence is contrary to assertions.”
It added that all actions were in accordance with universally recognized principles and practice, as every state has the right to define laws, policies and regulatory frameworks, keeping in mind the national context, circumstances and needs.
Amid calls for transparency, Pakistan denies targeting international NGOs
Amid calls for transparency, Pakistan denies targeting international NGOs
![Amid calls for transparency, Pakistan denies targeting international NGOs Amid calls for transparency, Pakistan denies targeting international NGOs](https://www.arabnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/n_670_395/public/main-image/2018/11/17/1371766-1634219976.jpg?itok=in80ZUaZ)
- Activists urge government to ensure transparency in registration of NGOs
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