Envoys want govt to be flexible on issue of INGOs registration

Thu, October 25, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Envoys of several countries have asked the Pakistan government to be flexible on the issue of registration of international non-government organisations (INGOs).

A letter signed by the envoys of the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and the European Union reads: “In the interests of the Pakistani people and our ongoing cooperation, we respectfully seek your leadership to help shape a more cooperative and nuanced arrangement on INGOs.”

The recently written letter follows the government’s directive to 18 INGOs to wrap up their operations within 60 days after their appeals against rejection of their applications for registration had been dismissed.

Warn move could hurt Pakistan’s image as ‘a partner on human development’

The envoys alleged “lack of transparency” in the registration process and regretted that the affected organisations and their donor governments had not been adequately explained about the reasons for the rejection of their appeals.

The Pakistan government had started fresh registration of INGOs in 2015 after the announcement of the registration policy. A total of 141 INGOs had applied for registration under the new policy, out of which applications of 66 INGOs were approved and 41 rejected in two groups. The organisations, whose applications had been rejected, were allowed an appeal in 90 days.

The envoys’ letter warned that the move could hurt Pakistan’s image as “a partner on human development”, besides undermining confidence of the donors and business community. “It will also have a negative impact on the amount of donor funding that will reach Pakistanis in coming years and serve as a disincentive for foreign investment,” it maintained.

The government had offered the affected INGOs to reapply for registration after six months. The envoys said this was impracticable.

Envoys of these countries had last month written a letter to Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi, expressing their reservations over the manner in which the registration was conducted.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken directly to Prime Minister Imran Khan on this matter when she called to congratulate him on the assumption of office.

The organisations that have been cleared for registration, meanwhile, have expressed reservations over the memorandum of understanding that had been offered to them. A source in INGOs said that so far there has been no change in government’s attitude.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2018

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