ISLAMABAD: After days of uproar surrounding the banning of an international non-governmental organisation, the government has decided to streamline overall working of the sector.

However, the controversy surrounding the government’s move to shut down offices of Save the Children (STC) and ask its employees to leave the country within 15 days, but then holding the order in abeyance over the weekend remained unresolved.

In off-the-record comments, more than one highly placed government source told Dawn, following the sealing of STC office, the government had assured international donors that the situation would ease in coming days, and that the organisation would be allowed to continue its activities.

Avoiding a direct response to a question regarding shutting down of the STC, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said the government was reviewing regulations to oversee INGOs, and those found violating these new guidelines would not be allowed to operate in the country.

“Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has directed the high-level inter-ministerial committee, set up under Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi for reviewing laws and regulations regarding accreditation and working conditions of INGOs working in Pakistan, to submit its report expeditiously,” said a terse statement issued by the PM media cell.

About retracting of Economic Affair Division’s (EAD) first order regarding the STC, a senior government source privy to the unusual development told Dawn, “a top level telephonic communication at the level of prime minister office and US state department is behind withdrawal of the EAD’s notification following which the organisation’s office was sealed last week in Islamabad.”

Particularly, Federal Minister for Finance, Senator Ishaq Dar, under whose administrative control falls the EAD, the government source confided to Dawn, had played the key role in letting up the situation.

A second source, in the know of pressure put up by the international community, said all chief donors including Department for International Development (DEFID) of UK and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through their respective governments had conveyed their“serious concerns” to Pakistan after the episode of STC’s banning.

Although the government is yet to unseal STC’s main office in Islamabad, the government source told Dawn, the key employees of the organisation have been asked to resume their routine operations from their homes. “The situation will further improve in coming days, as the government has assured international community to address their concerns regarding its apparent moves against the INGOs .”

On ground, situation still remains the same. A spokesperson for the STC Saeed Minhas told Dawn the organization neither received first nor second notification, and its office continued to be sealed under the watch of Islamabad police. “The STC is open to whatever scrutiny, accountability and audit of its own accounts as well as information about its donors required by the government of Pakistan.” Mr Minhas too hoped of amicable resolution of the crisis.

Interior Minister Press Talk

During the press talk at his office inside the parliament house, interior minister claimed that action against Save the Children had not been reversed and assured that no foreign pressure will be taken to account and no decision against the national interest will be taken.

“The action has not been reversed and the offices of the NGO are still sealed”, he told a group of reporters in his parliament house chambers. The Minister said such half-baked reports bring more bad name for the state and the government.

Minister’s claim was in contradiction with a notification issued on Sunday holding in abeyance the previous notification. The copies of both the documents are available with Dawn. When the issue of STC’s closure was highlighted by the Saeed Ghani of the PPP in the Senate, finance minister Mr Dar parrying the question, said, “Mr Fatemi is holding a meeting on the registration of INGOs in the country within next 24 hours. As far as my information is concerned STC’s office is still sealed.” Mr Ghani had categorically asked if the EAD’s second notification on STC was issued due to international pressure.

In his press talk, Ch Nisar said, it had been decided not to place any national or international NGO on the red list or register any new NGO till an inter-ministerial committee formed by the Prime Minister, framed new rules of the game.

He clarified that registration and de-registration of NGOs was currently the mandate of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) which comes under the Ministry of Finance. “We just issue notifications on their advice”, he remarked.

He said it was being thought now that the EAD was not the relevant ministry and hinted that this ‘additional burden’ may be shifted to the Interior Ministry under the new policy on anvil.He said the broad parameters of the policy to regulate operations of NGOs in Pakistan will be finalized in next three to four days while the inter-ministerial committee headed by Ambassador (retd) Tariq Fatemi will go into nitty-gritty to give a final shape to the comprehensive policy.

Nisar said the matter of NGOs operations will be taken to its logical conclusion and these will be made to operate under the laws and rules of the countries. He said there were many grey areas right now and the review will cover nature of operation, mode of funds’ utilization, purview and timeline of the agreement under which these are allowed to operate.

He said the NGOs against which there were clear intelligence reports about their involvement in activities against the national interest will not be allowed to operate.He said under the new policy close family members of politicians, bureaucrats, generals and judges would not be allowed to work for NGOs.

The Interior Minister said he had proposed in a meeting on NGOs issue on Monday for putting in place a monitoring mechanism to see if the NGOs were operating under the law. “If they cross the red lines, the government and the concerned NGOs would be notified.”

He said proof will be required to shut down the NGOs against which there are allegations of crossing the red lines. He said the whole process was being expedited. When pressed what prompted the government to take action against the STC, he said, “I cannot share specific details right now.”

However, he said most of the NGOs were doing good work and the purpose was not to ban them, but to regulate them. He said Save the Children had a good reputation. He said approval was given to Save the Children in 1997. He said after a split in the organization, in 2014 an application for interim registration had been re-submitted, but final registration approval has not yet been given. Answering a question, he said nothing on record was available to show that the registration had been cancelled in 2012.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2015

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