ISLAMABAD - Besides recently-banned Save the Children, there are some other international NGOs that are under the radar of the intelligence agencies. Interestingly, the country of origin of most of the shadowy INGOs is United States.
According to a working paper of a federal ministry, country' intelligence agencies - especially Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) - and other stakeholders have been showing reservations on the working of some international non-government organisations (INGOs) and conveying their concerns to interior ministry that has the final authority to ban the operations of any INGO.
As the government is contemplating to regulate and streamline the operations and working of INGOs, an important meeting will be held next week at the interior ministry in which all the stakeholders including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Economic Affairs Division of finance ministry and representatives of intelligence agencies would sit together to discuss the ways to put the things right.
Besides Save the Children, which was banned over suspected anti-Pakistan activities, the other INGOs marked as dubious by the stakeholders include: National Democratic Institute (NDI), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), International Republic Institute (IRI) Creative Associates International, Inc. (CAII), Information Management and Mine Action Pograms, Inc. (iMMAP) and International Foundation of Electoral System (IFES).
The country's premier intelligence agency ISI had also showed its reservations on all of the above stated INGOs except iMMAP, but National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior had shown reservations on it this organisation too. Punjab government had also shown reservations on the working of Creative Associates International, Inc. (CAII), besides the ISI.
According to the working paper, there are INGOs whose MoUs (agreements) had been extended till May 15, 2015 in the past and the government afterwards extended some of these agreements while some others have yet to be extended. These include Mercy Corp, Plan International, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Care International, Teen Challenge, International Medical Corps (IMC), Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), Asia Foundation, Population Council, Catholic Relief Services, JHPIEGO and International Relief & Development Inc (IRD).
There is a list of INGOs who are working in Pakistan with short-term period/interim permission and the US is the country of origin of all of these. These are World Vision, Church World Services (CWS), Pathfinder, American Center for International Labour Solidarity (ACILS), American Refugees Committee (ARC), Handicap International, John Snow Inc. (JSI), Winrock International, Islamic Relief and Creative Associates International, Inc. (CAII).
As the government wants tightening grip on the finances of INGOs working in Pakistan as well streamline their working, a committee under the supervision of Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi is working on this issue.
Nargis Khan, a Policy and Communication Adviser at the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum which is a representative body of over 50 INGOs in Pakistan, told The Nation on Friday that all international NGOs were doing relief and humanitarian aid activities in Pakistan on the invitation of the government. She said that this uncertain environment for INGOs might impede the relief and other humanitarian activities of these organisations. She further said all INGOs used to provide all required documents to the government.