Pakistan shuts ‘Save the Children’ offices; warns foreign NGOs

Pakistan on Friday said it will ban foreign NGOs “working against the country”, a day after it sealed the office of international children’s aid agency ‘Save the Children’, a charity that was embroiled in a controversy in 2012 linking it with US tracking down Osama bin Laden.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said parliament was “deliberating on exposing” the “many” foreign <g data-gr-id="20">non</g>- governmental organisations (NGOs) “working against Pakistan”.

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

“Non-Government Organisations working against the country’s national interest will not be allowed to continue their work in Pakistan,” he added.

His remarks came a day after the ‘Save the Children’ charity’s country office here was sealed by government officials accompanied by police who placed a lock on its gate and asked employees to leave.

The interior minister added that they had been receiving intelligence reports for many <g data-gr-id="24">years</g> 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.

He also appealed to all international NGOs and governments to respect the laws of Pakistan, adding that the government will not bear any kind of foreign pressure regarding the working criteria of the NGOs.

“We don’t want to put <g data-gr-id="22">ban</g> on any <g data-gr-id="23">NGO</g> but we want to compel them to work under their charters,” Khan said, without naming any charity.