Pakistan Suspends its Order to Ban 'Save the Children'

[Sulman Badshah]

Pakistan Suspends its Order to Ban 'Save the Children'

A policeman stands guard outside the office of the international charity 'Save the Children' sealed by order of Pakistani authorities in Islamabad on June 11, 2015. (AFP)

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In a letter, the interior ministry said the earlier decision to ban the 'Save the Children' has been "held in abeyance till further order", which means that the groups can continue its work as it was doing before, the Express Tribune reported.

"The organisation can continue its work in Pakistan as it has been doing for decades until any further orders," a senior official of interior Ministry was quoted as saying.

Pakistan has set up a committee to draft new laws to regulate the non-profit organisations.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had earlier said that parliament was "deliberating on exposing" the "many" foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) "working against Pakistan".

Nisar had said that non-government organisations working against the country's national interest will not be allowed to continue their work in Pakistan.

Pakistan had previously linked the charity to the fake vaccination programme used by the CIA to track down al-Qaeda chief bin Laden.

A Pakistan intelligence report had alleged that the NGO had linked to Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi, who the CIA allegedly used to carry out the fake vaccination programme.

The charity had rejected any link with Afridi or CIA.

 

[Solomon2]

Statement on Pakistan office
On June 11, Save the Children confirmed that its office in Islamabad, Pakistan, had been closed and sealed off today by the Pakistani authorities. Save the Children was not served any notice to this effect. We strongly object to this action and are raising our serious concerns at the highest levels.

Save the Children was not served any notice to this effect. We strongly object to this action and are raising our serious concerns at the highest levels.

Save the Children has worked in Pakistan for more than 35 years and we currently have 1,200 staff members working across the nation. Save the Children does not have any expatriate staff working in Pakistan, all our staff are Pakistani.

Last year, our programs in health, education, food security and livelihoods reached more than 4 million children and their families. All our work is designed and delivered in close collaboration with the government ministries across the country, and aims to strengthen public service delivery systems in health, nutrition, education and child welfare.

Save the Children invests in childhood — every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

[SrNair]

Then why did they boasted about the banning of that NGO?

 

[root]

Foreign spy center saved by pressure tactics. If goverment has dry balls then they should better not try to take down ngo center and face the embaressment later.

 

[pakdefender]

Their wings have already been clipped and most of their activities will remain suspended , this announcement is just the carrot after the stick, should the point not get driven home then there are other means also available to put a stop to anti-state activities

Bottom line is that this NGO and many others are working against national interest and just like one way or the other we eventually got rid of contractors like Raymond Davis, prevailed after the Salala incident , we'll get rid of these parasites as well.

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

Good...No need to ban any NGO until proven guilty. ...They are doing good work for children and disable persons .

 

[pakdefender]

INGOs in limbo as government mulls new regularisation policy - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

Like other matters of national security , this too shall be taken to its LOGICAL conclusion

 

[kamrananvaar]

US warns Pakistan over Save the Children expulsion




Washington (AFP) - The United States on Friday warned Pakistan it was only hurting itself after Save the Children was expelled for "working against the country," with Islamabad threatening to throw out more foreign aid groups.

Pakistan has toughened its policies towards international aid groups in recent years, accusing them of being covers for spying operations, and has repeatedly warned them to restrict their activities, vowing stern action for any "suspicious" activity.



Police and government officials sealed the Islamabad offices of Save the Children on Thursday, but gave no specific details of what the group was alleged to have done.

Washington expressed concern at the move and said several non-governmental organizations "have reported increasing difficulty doing business in Pakistan."

"This has had a significant negative impact on international partner efforts to support government of Pakistan priorities," said State Department spokesman John Kirby.

The statement came hours after Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan's interior minister, said parliament was debating whether to expose what he said were the "many" foreign NGOs bent on undermining Pakistan.

"Many NGOs are working against Pakistan and we are deliberating on exposing them in the parliament," Nisar told reporters.

"Non-government organizations working against the country's national interest will not be allowed to continue their work in Pakistan."

Aid groups have complained in recent years that increasing government restrictions on their activities has hampered their efforts to help vulnerable people in a country which still has huge numbers who live in poverty.

They say their work in so-called "sensitive" areas such as southwestern Baluchistan -- the country's poorest, least developed province -- have been particularly affected.

Without naming any organizations, Khan said some NGOs had been operating without proper regulation and had worked in Baluchistan when they had permission only to work in Islamabad.

In 2012, the government expelled the expat staff of Save the Children, which has worked in Pakistan for over 35 years and employs 1,200 Pakistanis.

That move came after Pakistani intelligence services accused the charity of links to doctor Shakeel Afridi, who the CIA allegedly used to carry out a fake vaccination programme as they searched for Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Save the Children has always vehemently denied any link to either Afridi or the CIA.

"Pakistan's international development partners respect the government of Pakistan's need for full transparency from INGOs (international NGOs) involving their activities within the country," Kirby said in a statement.

"We also agree INGOs must operate within a relevant legal and regulatory framework.

"For that reason, we urge the Government of Pakistan to standardize and streamline a transparent process that will allow INGOs, including Save the Children, to work legally in Pakistan."

 

[tarrar]

Pakistan should ban & deport all these f**king NGO's. It has been proven in the past that these bastards are all foreign agents working against Pakistan.