Osama bin Laden effect: Pak government orders international NGOs to shut operations
Pak orders international NGOs to shut operations
The Pakistan government has been fearful of spies operating since the Bin Laden episode and?treats?'foreign-aid groups in the country with suspicion'.
The Pakistan government has ordered international aid groups to shut operations in the country, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The Pakistan daily said authorities decided to take the step after several NGOs failed to re-register under tough regulations introduced two years ago.
However, the report said the reason for the Pakistan establishment to take this extreme step is mainly due to the fact that CIA had used a vaccination campaign as a front to track down Osama bin Laden in 2011, while ultimately killing him. The Osama campaign inside Pakistan was allegedly carried out by through a "CIA front organization", the newspaper said.
The Pakistan government has been fearful of spies operating in the country since then andtreats"foreign-aid groups in the country with suspicion", the Pakistan daily said.
Pakistan has decided to clamp down on several international NGOs namely the ActionAid, Open Society Foundations among others and ordered them to close their offices and leave the country.
In 2015, the Pakistan government had ordered all NGOs in the country to register with the interior ministry and asked them to submit detailed accounts of their funding, the newspaper said.
Several foreign aid organizations work in Pakistan but now with new regulations in place and the government intent on striking them down, NGOs are trying to save their branches in the country by appealing to the government but are not sure about the process and the time it would take to settle with authorities.
Pakistan Humanitarian Forum says foreign aid groups directly benefit about 29 million people in Pakistan, contributing $285 million in funding for development and emergency relief in 2016 and employ over 5,000 local staff.